


Dreaming With Eyes Open

by Prismacoloured



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-01-16 15:16:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1352137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prismacoloured/pseuds/Prismacoloured
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Plagued by nightmares as a child Mike was always thought of as the odd child even by his large family. He would wake up and speak about his adventures fighting to save the world from giant monsters while surrounded by faceless men and women in uniform.<br/>But one night he woke up remembering a blonde soldier standing out among the rest.</p><p>As he grew up he never expected to ever meet the man literally out his dreams and for Erwin to drag him into a life that couldn't be more different from the one he was used to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first multi-chapter fic which became a bit of a monster without me realising it.  
> I'll try to update as often as I can.  
> Please be gentle!!

If someone asked how Mike had ended up in this situation, he would just shrug and say he didn’t remember. It was a long story involving a whole load of drama he would much rather just forget, something about needing money fast and ending up looking for any excuse to try and raise the funds to afford a decent meal that wasn’t stale bread bought at discount and instant noodles.

In honesty, Mike had always been the odd child. Always a fair bit larger than the average boy his age and with shaggy blonde hair he always protested to ever getting cut too short. It hung over his eyes almost constantly despite his mother’s persistent attempts to sweep it back or encourage him to get it styled. Attending church every Sunday he kept quiet rather than making any excuse to leave or make noise as children do when they get bored. Though he grew up surrounded by siblings, aunts, uncles and a multitude of cousins, to most an ideal family environment, living in a small country house near a farm with plenty of barn animals for company, he had always felt alone and cut off from everyone else. He had grown up feeling just slightly out of place, preferring to go out and explore the forests alone and come back telling tales of monsters and flying through the trees. He would describe his adventures fighting these mighty beasts and always coming back victorious. He was the strongest out of all of them, a hero among men to save the entire human race and set them free to explore the rest of the world instead of being trapped behind giant walls built of stone, His parents had smiled and put it all down as a huge game, a figment of their son’s imagination. He was creative and they preferred that to him sitting inside watching television all day and rotting his brain with whatever was on there nowadays.

He remembered even now of the nights as a child waking up in the middle of the night screaming about these huge monsters tearing through large empty fields at high speed. Always the same ugly terrifying things, huge naked bodies with dark soulless eyes and teeth that tear through the flesh of any human they caught like a hot knife through butter. Every single night it was the same scenario though in different situations. Sometimes a city falling apart around him while civilians ran around screaming for help, mothers mourning children and husbands being forced to leave behind the remains of their lives, all the voices ringing clearly in his ears and always left him drowning in sweat and face wet with tears upon his awakening.

As he grew older, the dreams never faded and yet he couldn’t go running to his parents for comfort like he used to. He was turned away one night told that things were just a part of his imagination and to just return to his own bed. So he did. He learned to conceal his fear, to calm himself and the panic attacks that came with these vivid images that haunted his nights. They were always so clear, he could describe all of these monsters from the way their disgusting bodies twitched as they walked to the scent of decay and fear that came with it.

That was another thing his brothers and sisters had always found unusual about him. He had picked up the habit of sniffing at things and picking up on smells from a distance. He could be sitting in a field on a summer’s afternoon gazing up at the sky while his brothers were kicking around a football or playing handheld games, suddenly sitting up and heading towards the house minutes before their mother would call them inside for dinner. He would always offer to cut the grass or go for a walk in the woods if in a foul mood and his family would let him knowing that the smells of nature would relax him, walk past buildings under construction and sniff at the air till he was pulled away. Upon questioning he would simply say that he liked how places were being rebuilt better than they were before they were destroyed. He would stand in the rain with eyes closed and drawing in deep breaths until pulled inside, wrapped in towels being lectured on how he’d catch himself a death of a cold. Which to his horror one day he did after naturally ignoring his parents warnings and spent a week and a half complaining nearly non stop wrapped up in blankets on the sofa with a mug of hot lemon and honey. A growing pile of tissues filling up the bin as he spent his time off school nursing his painfully blocked nose, for which he made sure he never went outside in storms without an umbrella ever again.

Time passed and Mike learnt to keep his odd habits at least a little hidden from other people for fear of being the joke of the class, though after awhile he merely just gave up caring and started concentrating on other things. He started working out in his free time, spending time alone running laps and building up his stamina and body strength. Nobody complained of course thinking that he was just interested in being healthier and enjoyed his sports, but he never said aloud that his reason for being so strict with everything was that he enjoyed the routines and discipline that came with it. It reminded him of something, and just felt so natural to be doing these things again. No.. Not again.. That would be stupid..

He continued the charade well into his teenage years, using it as an excuse to distance himself from people. It wasn’t that he hated other children at school, but he never found it easy to make connections with anyone especially since he could read them a lot better than they had liked. Instantly he was picked on for his habit of always going in to smell at someone knew he just met, being larger than everyone else and appearing stupid and aloof. So Mike played into the role, finding it easier to just go along with things rather than bothering to fight back since he found them unworthy of his time. What was the point after all in making people you hated like you? People didn’t live forever and he wasn’t interested in wasting time with trivial things even at a young age.

But he expected to have a normal life just like everyone else. It was a small village  so had a strong sense of community where everybody knew each other. However due to it being so close-knit, reputation was everything and rumours would develop quickly and dangerously at such trivial things such as skipping church. Faith being expected rather than encouraged which was instilled upon every child since birth through both parents and education within the town.

So when Mike Zacharius’ life suddenly turned upside down, it sent shockwaves through everything he ever knew and left him struggling in ways he never had expected. And it started off with those dreams that came to him night after night.

\------

It was all the same as every other night. An awkward silence hung over the military base. A symbol of two swords crossed over each other printed on the back of every brown jacket that made up the uniform they all wore. A hundred faceless teenage boys and girls standing to attention around him, saluting with a hand over their hearts as a senior officer inspected each and everyone in turn. Asking questions to which they were expected to reply with confidence.

There was a distinct smell of fear in the air from all the recruits, nerves building as it neared their turn and followed by either an intense wave of relief or shame depending on exactly what had resulted. Mike had long given up trying to explain to people how he smelt emotion. It wasn’t something he could really describe, but it had been useful countless times when figuring out who or not to trust and other situations which may have got him into trouble.

A laugh, soft and airy as if the person wasn’t trying to be heard. Mike shifted slightly, trying to get a view of this person who would dare make a noise at the cost of public humiliation and who knows what else. This was their first day here after all. There was a whole reputation to build up and a first impression was really important when you’d be spending so much time surrounded by these people all the time for the next how many years till graduation.

His eyes caught the culprit standing just two along from him on the left, and for the first time in his life he found he couldn’t quite remember how to breathe. It was another boy, probably around his own age at sixteen. Blonde hair neatly combed back framing a young face that he could already tell was destined to become handsome and strong. His blue eyes beneath maybe slightly-larger-than-average eyebrows were sharp, clear and bright as the clear cloudless sky on a hot summers day quietly observing everything around him while the older teen silently judged the situation. But they were unreadable as if the boy had worked out how to perfectly mask his emotions behind a false smile. This bothered Mike, who gave a tentative sniff at the air, expecting to be able to read a little more into this stranger but was surprised to find… nothing..? No, that wasn’t possible, he tried again but was confused to find that he hadn’t been mistaken. Everybody had a scent. Behind all the layers of lifestyle choices and other things they could control, there was always an underlying smell of something unique to that person. It was something that he couldn’t ever describe though he had tried many times, everybody was different and it changed just slightly stronger or weaker depending on one’s emotions. He had learnt how to read these things, not needing to look at a person to know that they were lying to him or had something awkward they wished to discuss.

This person had the scent of new uniform, fresh leather and a soap he instantly tried to convince himself he didn’t like, but beneath that it was like there was a blank slate where there should’ve been a novel. He wouldn’t have even been able to even tell that the chuckle had even come from him should he not have spotted the tiny smirk hidden in the corner of those soft, thin lips. He knew he was staring, but he didn’t care if people found him ‘odd’ for doing so, he had heard it all before and long ago grown a sense of apathy about the whole thing. But as those bottomless blue eyes caught his own, painfully boring he always said, brown he found himself unable to look away. There was a spark there, tiny and well hidden behind layers that were carefully erected almost like the walls that protected humanity from the titans, but Mike decided right then that he wanted to figure out this enigma.

“ZACHARIUS!!”

\---

The sound of the alarm blaring out which he had set on his phone the night before had him jolt out of his sleep, the scene disappearing as he was forced back into reality though as usual it clung like a fog around the edge of his mind refusing to completely vanish. Groaning he threw an arm over to his bedside table, grasping for a minute to find the source of that repetitive jingle that never failed to piss him off to the extent that he had to get up to switch the infernal thing on silent. Once blissful silence returned to his room he sighed and forced himself to sit up. Joints protesting to his extended workout the previous evening, stiff and uncomfortable from being pushed just a little too far.

Mike always found that sleep always came easier to him after working himself to such exhaustion that he would pass out almost instantly as his head touched the pillow. Otherwise he found himself thinking on too many things, the scents from outside or downstairs keeping his mind buzzing with theories or formations from the strategy-based war games he found himself playing. But after a late night’s run and a couple hundred pushups or something similar; the visions became hazy or sometimes stopped altogether, leaving him with an oddly satisfying dreamless sleep. Though apparently this wasn’t the case tonight.

Groaning again, he stood up and made his way to the small bathroom with the intention of just splashing some water on his face to wake himself up, but decided against it when realising that it was only 6am. He had about forty-five minutes, perhaps an hour, before the rest of the household would properly awaken to begin their own morning routines. Then the fights for hot water and private time in the shared family bathroom would begin…

Making sure to grab a change of boxers and a freshly washed shirt he shuddered at the memory of the one time he had failed to take into account just how much of a war zone it would be sharing it with so many people. The shouting and complaining as his youngest twin brothers fought over the toothpaste, naturally squirting half of the tube all over the sink and the floor, while his sisters bickered over who get the most space in front of the mirror to do their makeup and do their hair. Yes, it was definitely an experience he had no desire to ever repeat. So he always made sure to be up extra early as to avoid it. It also meant he could really focus on enjoying his morning showers without someone else banging on the door yelling for him to hurry up and complaining about how he was using up all the hot water.

It was always far nicer to wake up and walk around while the house was quiet. He would usually be the one to let out the dogs and take them for an early morning run, returning to make breakfast for whoever else happened to be awake slightly earlier than needed or to bring coffee back for them should he pass their local joint. He didn’t mind the noise really, he actually really liked being surrounded by people and thought himself used to it. There was a serene sense of peace as he stood alone beneath the steady stream of hot water and letting his body relax, uncapping a bottle of mint shower gel that always woke him up with it’s strong fresh tang he could almost taste whenever he inhaled. Humming in content at the sensation of the steam rising up around him and water running down a toned chest and abs, he scrubbed the sweat and grime from his body with a cloth, making sure to wash away the remainder of soap and dirt down the drain.

He always found himself taking showers despite there always being the opportunity to take a bath. Something about them being practical and a means to just get clean, but having the luxury to take his time and enjoy it made it something just a little more special somehow. A sudden thought forced him to pause as he made to clean his legs, but it passed as suddenly as it had appeared. It left him reeling, leaning on the wall of the shower for support. The image had been so clear, showers much more simple in design than this each with a small divider in between as men all stood cleaning themselves after a long day of training. Each and everyone had matching bruises across their shoulders, backs and down their legs. Lines crossing over each other in dark purples and greens from fresh wounds which would eventually never fade for as long as they lived. He could almost, no, he could feel the leather tightly wrapped around his skin and for a second he had to inspect his body in fear that he would actually have these dark marks criss-crossing his chest, but there was nothing of the sort.

He shook his head slightly, trying to gather his bearings and convince himself that obviously he was just more tired than he thought. He must’ve fallen asleep slightly on his feet and jolted out of it luckily before he fell and hurt himself.

Making sure to rinse all the product from his hair a second time, he liked to keep it in good condition thank you very much, he figured that he should probably finish up soon or suffer the wrath of seven angry brothers and sisters who discovered only cold water when it was time for their own showers. After all the moment was pretty much killed, he just wanted to get out and forget about what happened.

Turning off the water, he shivered lightly at feeling the warmth start to fade almost instantly having left the window open slightly so the mirror wouldn’t fog up completely from the heat of the shower. Trying to ignore the sensation of bare feet touching cool floor tiles, he made for the largest fluffy towel that he could find, rubbing furiously at his hair and body to try and dry off a bit before standing in front of the mirror to stare at his reflection.

He wasn’t one of those people who really cared about his appearance. It just never felt that important for him to really dress up in the ‘newest’ styles like the other boys his age had. As long as he was clean and comfortable in what he wore that was all that really mattered. But that didn’t stop the odd sense of satisfaction that had flared up at the first sign of puberty hitting his young body.

As a child he always said that he wanted to grow up big and strong in order to fight the giant monsters of his ‘imagination’, eating his vegetables every night despite not particularly liking the taste with his parents’ encouragement that he would do so should be eat plenty. So when, to their mild horror, he found himself gaining almost inches overnight and quickly outgrowing clothes faster than anyone could buy them for him, he was proud of it and stood tall and unashamed.

Of course people used to tease him for his size after that, calling him a giant like the ones he used to talk about and expecting him to be clumsy, all long limbs and no co-ordination. But Mike was instantly comfortable with his growing body, keeping up with everything at ease and never losing balance or flexibility much to everyone’s surprise.

Now he didn’t have someone breathing down his neck (figuratively and literally now that he towered even above his own father and was now the tallest in his family) about things, he let his hair grow out longer than he usually was allowed to. Mostly he kept it long at the top and a regularly maintained undercut beneath, though right now he had been neglecting it and could pull it back into a small ponytail should he wish to.

At this precise moment it was a mess, sticking up in several strange gravity-defying directions from being roughly toweled and left to dry by air while he pulled on his boxers and rummaged around for his razor to tidy up the mess of stubble on his face. He had been trying to grow something for awhile now and it was finally filling into something that could actually be called a resemblance of a mustache. It wasn’t quite what he wanted yet, but he just found it was almost like his body automatically fell into a routine of how to shave it into this particular style and Mike never fought against it when he thought he looked pretty good with it this way. Rinsing the remainder of the foam off his face after a few minutes of shaving he looked up again, satisfied with his appearance he pulled on his shirt and left to head back to his own room.

Hearing a door open as he walked past, he automatically began breathing through his mouth rather than his nose, the tired voice of his brother Dan jokingly asking how it was possible for anyone to be awake at this time in the morning confirming his suspicion. He retorted with a shrug and tried to just get back to his room without inhaling the combination of of six week old pizza, three months of unmade bed and dirty socks that had been there for God knows how long that always wafted from said brother’s room.

He cursed his overly sensitive nose at moments like this, something as strong as that would’ve nearly knocked him completely out at an early age, but at last he figured out ways of combating overly powerful things like this. Unfortunately most of them involved just not breathing when possible.

He tried instead to focus on the pros of the situation since it was something he had to live with, doctors didn’t really have an explanation and a good sense of smell wasn’t really seen as a problem to have to sort out and so it was left. His own room wasn’t immaculate, that would’ve been a miracle for a teenage boy, but it was kept clean. He preferred not to use chemical sprays for fear of overwhelming his sinuses but instead would light incense or candles to combat any odours he found unpleasant. Many times he found himself doing sit ups on the floor of his room, the soft scent of sandalwood or jasmine keeping him focused imagining himself somewhere else, or otherwise falling asleep at night with the window open smells of summer plants and the animals in the fields on a soft breeze.

Having returned to the comfort of his room, Mike shut the door to avoid any of the craziness that was soon to ensue out in the hallways. He could already hear the footsteps of the next couple of people who had managed to wrestle themselves out of deep sleep to face the day ahead of them, instead picking up his phone that he had left on his unmade bed and scrolling through the usual applications checking for messages. There never were any. His Facebook only held a few people from school that he sometimes spoke to and a couple who had added him years after they had stopped being in classes together and probably just kept him there for the nostalgia. But he kept them all there anyway, occasionally getting an invitation to play an online game he had no intention of ever accepting or encouraged to watch a video probably involving something about a cat trying to catch a laser and running into a wall instead. He had been tempted to delete it a few times, having no real interest and never updating it since he didn’t really find himself interesting enough to talk about, but he never did. He liked knowing that he did exist to people, even if it was only one person in their friends list of over six hundred. It was nice to feel important and useful in someway.

Shrugging as he tossed the phone back onto his bed he pulled on his favourite pair of jeans, the only pair he had ever found to actually be baggy on his huge frame instead of being way too tight especially across the crotch and making him look like he had a near constant erection. (That particular pair had been returned to the shop the very same day he had received it, it was still a taboo subject of conversation in the Zacharius household.) There was always a limited choice of clothing what with his size, his family having to drive to larger villages or buy off the Internet to find something suitable for a teenage boy rather than the adult selections. But what he had he liked and that did Mike just fine.

After he finished getting dressed and pulling on a pair of worn tatty red converse he grabbed his bag and went to brave the chaos outside his room, years of experience helping him expertly avoid running into any bodies that raced back and forth along the landing till he reached the stairs. He even managed to get to the bottom without tripping over an over excited dog or a pile of clothes left there expecting to be picked up and washed by someone who didn’t have class or work today which was something he usually did struggle with a bit, a sense of pride and accomplishment written over his features at not hurting himself for the first time this week as he strolled into the kitchen to prepare himself something to eat.

It was a Tuesday so his mother sat at the table, his nephew Jacob sitting upon her knee refusing to accept any of the mushed up baby food she tried to coax him into eating for his breakfast. His elder sister and her husband were both at work today so she took on the responsibility of having the little boy over saying that she missed having such young children around since her own babies were all too grown up to coddle in quite the same way she used to. She had always loved having a large family, having been one of four herself, and so was delighted when one of her own children gave her a grandson to spoil rotten.

“Want toast?” he asked, motioning to the nearly empty cup of coffee on the table that he assumed was the only thing she had consumed this morning so far. Without waiting for an answer he went to grab some bread and slipped four slices into the toaster to make himself and her something to eat knowing that his train wasn’t due for a little while yet and so he had no rush to leave. A quick check to the kettle found that there was enough hot water remaining to make his own cup of instant coffee, which he made with the intent of trying and wake himself up with a load of caffeine since the incident with the shower hadn’t quite left his mind. He took a sip as he sat down with the slightly chipped blue mug with “Mike” painted on the side in bright orange and a horrifically gaudy font, a gift someone probably thought was a joke but it became the cup he used most often and nobody else really wanted to touch.

“He’ll be one next week,” His mother cooed over the boy in her arms, having given up trying to feed when most of the food was just ending up over her and the table.She gave a look to her son, a soft smile gracing her features which were worn and tired from her growing age. “When are you going to get a girlfriend?” He managed to hide a grimace with another drink of his coffee, always dreading the topic being brought up as it had been at least twice a month since he was fifteen and considered old enough to be interested in the opposite sex.

“When I’m ready mum, I’ve got deadlines coming up.” He made sure to answer simply, finding it easier to just blame schoolwork rather than explaining that he just had no interest in anything like this right. Maybe he just hadn’t met the right girl yet, or maybe it was something else Mike didn’t care. It just never was important enough to spend hours fretting over details about figuring out if someone liked you in that way and then the whole issue of working how to ask someone out without completely embarrassing oneself. It just seemed like added stress on top of homework, exams and extra curricular activities which kept him out even later than most four days a week.

Luckily the toaster decided that now was the time it was done with the bread, making an excellent excuse for Mike to stand up a few seconds before it popped up since leaving it to finish completely would end up in the thing being a little burnt. At least Mike could tell when it was done by scent alone and never had to worry about burning his food, He kept himself busy spreading jams onto each perfectly golden slice while occasionally humming a noise of agreement as his mother rambled on and on about even his youngest brother had asked out a girl in his class for a playdate tonight, how soon all the girls in his class would be taken by those who got there first and would he so kindly pick up some milk on the way home please? He just turned around, and helping himself to a mouthful of raspberry jam right as the twins walked in bickering to each other about something else he didn’t care about but dragged the woman’s attention away from him and his lack of an other half for today.

Looking at the clock on the wall above the door he noticed it was nearly seven thirty and he should get ready to leave soon or else miss his train and have to wait nearly twenty minutes for the next one and risk being late to classes. Shouting his goodbyes to the family and giving a pat on the head to the dogs that as usual ran up whining thinking that he was planning to go on a run without them, he left the house behind and started the walk down the country pathways towards the train station, his mind still lingering on brown leather and of piercing blue eyes gazing into his own that he just couldn’t get out of his head...

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on for Mike, but he can't stop feeling that the boy in his dream might be important somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, convention happened and writing got put off because sewing needed to be done.  
> But back now, hope this is worth the wait~

It was a nice morning so far considering it was March, the air fresh and crisp in his lungs as he strolled down the grassy fields towards where the rest of the village sat nestled within hills and meadows, a small river running right through the middle. It was a nice little place that sometimes attracted a few small families looking for an extremely remote getaway for a weekend or two a year, but other than that it stayed pretty contained and quiet. Happy to ignore and be ignored by the places nearby that you could only get to via car or a small train that was pretty run down and old by now but did the job well enough that it didn’t require replacement.

The station itself was small and worn, it’s sign appearing to barely hold onto the wood it was nailed to. It was unmanned, since not that many people would really pass through so it didn’t require constant attention that would mean someone would need to be paid to stand around all day doing pretty much nothing. Mike wrapped his jacket around himself a little tighter as he stood on the platform alone, trying to keep out the chill knowing somehow that the sun would show itself soon enough and warm everything up enough that carrying a larger coat would just be bothersome.  
Soon the train pulled up, old doors that desperately needed a lick of paint opened with a painful high pitched squeak to allow any passengers on or off the vehicle. Mike was the only one to do either at this stop nine times out of ten. He presented his pass to the older man who inspected the tickets each day, taking his usual seat by the window to make himself comfortable as he started his journey to school. Most would probably find a journey like this tedious to take pretty much every single day, but Mike enjoyed leaving behind the small cottages and ominous old church that stood far above everything else at the top of the hill overlooking every house below as if judging everyone living within them.

He found himself relaxing further as the journey continued, the sway of the train added to the steady beat of the music playing in his ears from his second-hand ipod nearly sending him back to sleep as he watched the landscape change outside the window. The clouds slowly thinning out had him smiling to himself watching as cobbled pathways and fields used for farming slowly changed into something much more resembling modern civilization. Six songs later and the synthetic woman’s voice rang out on the overhead speakers announcing that they would be soon pulling into his station and to make sure to collect all belongings before leaving. Shrugging his bag onto his shoulder a quick glance to his phone confirmed that he had plenty of time to grab a coffee before class, having not finished the one at home and to be honest he preferred a professionally made cup in comparison to the instant stuff anyway

He had started to visit this coffee shop quite by chance a few years ago and had applied back when his parents had pressured him to find a job to pay for his travel since he was the first of his siblings to want to go to somewhere other than the local school that he easily could walk to each morning. He had to assure them that he would try to get a part-time job along with keeping on top of all his classes and chores expected of him at home despite the hours travelling per day. He hadn’t really ever planned on becoming a Barista but the “Legion” was welcoming to his student lifestyle and offered him the chance to work around his schedule and always making sure he had the hours he needed to pay for travel along with a little extra to spoil himself should be want to.

“Morning Mike!!” rang a familiar voice as he entered, having expected it he raised his hand in greeting to the girl working behind the counter, cloth in hand wiping down the dark brown wooden surface. Her name was Ginny, a short slender girl that had started working at Legion a few months after Mike had started but due to her being full time rather than the limited hours that he did she had risen through the ranks pretty fast and now was the assistant manager of the place. Her auburn hair framing the lightly tanned face perfectly immaculate and tied up in an intricate pattern as was her usual style. Mike always wondered how exactly she managed to pull it off. Whenever he worked a busy morning he always ended the shift looking a little scruffy and unkempt, hair falling out of it’s ties to hang over his eyes, refusing to stay back while his black shirt and apron became stained with ground coffee.

“The usual?” she asked and before Mike even had a chance to say anything as he approached the till point, she was already poised by the machine and measuring out two shots of ground beans into the portafilter ready to to begin making his signature drink. She didn’t even need to ask anymore really but it was just an automated habit and an excuse for them to chat idelly about their days while she worked. Usually if she had seen him in the queue waiting she would have his drink already completed by the time that he arrived at the point where he was supposed to order it.

“That’d be great, plus a hazelnut latte please.” The sound of steaming milk was almost therapeutic to him now and he sniffed deep, enjoying the familiar atmosphere and finding comfort in the place he’d easily call his home away from home. Perhaps it was a little weird that he always found himself returning here on his days off just to escape from everything. Either sitting around just nursing a muffin and tea or bringing his homework there to spend the day away from any distractions at home. He always had a favourite seat near the back near the wall on a sofa, plug socket close by should be bring his laptop and out of range of the blasts of cold air conditioning should the people behind the counter get overheated and needed to turn it on (something most customers would complain about and not understand that it was necessary for the staff so they wouldn’t overwork and hurt themselves what with the heat from the coffee machine, back of the fridges and grills making them feel like it were cooking them alive as they ran back and forth on a busy shift.)

Customers recognised him and said their greetings whenever they saw him, whether it was inside the shop or outside in the street. Old women would remember his birthday and a particular one he knew struggled to walk yet still managed to get there every single day without fail would force him to accept a some money despite the rule to generally not accept personal tips. Occasionally business men or workers from other shops that he had started talking to a little bit came and joined him at his table, wasting their afternoons away together in blissful silence and just enjoying letting the world keep turning while lives continued all around them. It was something that Mike wouldn’t trade for the world despite craving having a bit of a better purpose in his life.

He was snapped out of his daze by a polite cough, to which he turned around from where he was staring at nothing in particular and found two freshly made drinks in a paper travel holder for easier transport all ready to go.  
“Oh, sorry.” he muttered, a little embarrassed though he knew Ginny wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the behaviour, receiving it often from customers before 7am who would walk in like a mindless zombie to get their caffeine fix on their way to wok. Realising he was so lost in his thoughts he had forgotten to get the money to pay for his drinks, he began frantically searching his pockets for change but stopped when he felt a gentle hand resting on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it” she smiled, “ You have classes soon right?” Sometimes she would let him take away a drink for himself, but this was the first time she let him take away a second.

“Thanks, I owe you!” grabbing the drinks he made towards the exit. The response was another small laugh and a wave of her own hand in a gesture that told him to just get out of there and to not worry about anything.

“Switch shifts on Saturday?” she called out, probably more of a joke than anything but as he opened the door he gave a curt nod to confirm that he’d check his schedule and do her the favour if he could.

It wasn’t far a walk from the coffee shop to his college, but he found himself walking a little faster than usual though trying not to spill the drinks by rushing. He had chosen to attend this particular school for a few reasons, high tech equipment with a bright and airy atmosphere were included of course, but the main attraction had been the links to join the military through their sports programs. Though it was something that as soon as his parents had noticed he had a particular interest in it they had made him swear an oath on some distant relative that he wouldn’t run off to do so at the first available opportunity. So instead had decided to focus more on business and law, subjects he found dreadfully dull and difficult but gained him the approval needed to get his wishes of extra freedom.

So instead he joined sports teams as his own entertainment. It was a choice much to the specialist teacher’s disappointment at not having his natural talent in their classes taking it as a profession rather than just as a hobby when he was so much better than most of the ones working on it. But Mike didn’t want to dwell and be upset about things, instead just looking at the positives such as being given access to the gym out of regular hours or permission to enter a few small competitions if he didn’t have too much other work going on that he was supposed to focus on. Everything was going pretty well and Mike figured it could’ve been a whole lot worse really.

Reaching his classroom, luckily on the ground floor so he never needed to worry about bolting up flights of stairs on the occasion he was actually running late, he dropped into his usual seat and made sure the drinks were safely sat on the desk. The sudden movement and the sound of Mike’s weight dropping onto the plastic school-approved chair startled the girl seated beside him who jumped violently with a squeak of surprise and dropping the book she was so buried in she hadn’t noticed anything going on around her.

“What was that for?!” She exclaimed, grabbing the thick leather-bound novel off the floor where it had landed and made to hit Mike over the head with it, but upon noticing the branded cups on the desk put a lot less effort into her swing but let it fall on it’s mark either way. The resounding thump after the clatter of the chair at Mike’s loud entrance was met with a few stifled (and a few out loud) laughs from the other members of the class, who were used to the bickering of the two teenagers and always found it a delightful source of entertainment. Now grateful that he had picked up the gift for her, or else right now he’d be nursing a bruise on his temple and a headache that would probably linger all day unless she found it in her heart to brush this under the carpet and give him a painkiller. Hell hath no fury as a pissed off Nanaba if you pushed her a little too far, and luckily Mike knew exactly when things were getting too far. He smiled as she took the drink, taking off the lid and taking a sip as if checking that peace offering was satisfactory to her standards. It always was.

“I’m forgiven then?”

  
“For now.” She was playing him but he went along with it, acting like she was pissed off but there was no hint of any real malice behind the scent of artificial sugar from that near sickenly sweet hazelnut syrup. It always took him a second to adjust to that especially since his friend liked an extra shot or two of the stuff in her drink which the barista at the coffee shop obviously remembered despite him not mentioning it. But she would soon get bored of playing annoyed soon enough. In three… two… one-

“So how was your weekend?” she asked, anger forgotten completely as she sat downward and leaning towards him. She ran a hand through her short wild hair, eyes focused completely on her friend. They had both started the college a year ago and ran into each other first trying to get the last coke in the vending machine, Mike had eventually backed down but they instantly became close friends from then on despite having mostly different classes. She was the only one who didn’t back away in a mix of confusion and disgust as he leant in to smell at her, letting him do what he wanted and not questioning him on it until a few months later when she was just curious about things and liked to think their friendship was strong enough that she would actually get an answer.

“Okay I guess,” shrugging since he didn’t really want to talk, but naturally she didn’t get the hint , that or she just ignored it and knew that it’d make him feel at least a better not to dwell on his thoughts alone. Even though he would deny it at the time, she was always right. She lowered her voice, shifting her chair a little closer and making sure nobody else was paying attention while he took a sip of his own caramel mocha and whispered under her breath.

“Is it those dreams again?” It was said carefully, knowing that this was a sensitive subject. But he trusted her to know when to stop and gave a curt nod in return as the door opened and the teacher arrived signalling the class to start calming down and getting ready to actually do some damn work. It wasn’t that long since he had first brought up the subject of his dreams; though he planned for her to never find out in the first place. He had been sketching in the back of his notebook during a particularly tedious lecture when she had glanced over and seen the highly intricate details of this strange machine he had seen in his dream that previous night. Upon questioning he had somehow been able to describe everything about it without a second thought, everything from the intricate mechanics of how the thing worked and its use of gas power, to the sensation of flying through the air using thin but incredibly strong wires. Soaring about rooftops or among giant trees taller than any of which he had searched for on the Internet for to try and satisfy his curiosity. He had made the mistake of talking about these things before, but while most found his fascination with all these things to be absurd and avoided ‘that weird kid that still believes in fairy tales’, she had actually asked questions about it, seeming genuinely interested in his stories and even going so far as to suggest tales of her own wanting to join in on this fantasy world. It was at that moment that Mike knew that Nanaba was going to be someone incredibly important in his life, the first person he truly could call his best friend. He let her within the walls he had constructed to protect himself from other people, irony at it’s finest he would tell himself, and they would talk for hours about pretty much anything and everything.

There was a nudge on his arm as he stared at the man at the front of the room, who was talking about something he didn’t really understand but would research more into later. He turned to his friend and spotted a slip of paper between them with a note written in her delicate handwriting at the top.

_‘Must’ve been a bad one, something about that monkey thing again?’_

Of course she would bring that up. While he could wake up in mild shock from any dream involving those monstrous beings with only a mild sweat and needing to try and calm down his heart that raced from something akin to adrenaline, there was only one that would have him screaming into the night until someone ran into his room at 4am forcing him out of the nightmare that had his consciousness trapped, tangled tight in it’s greedy claws and refusing to let him awaken. Those he never remembered and whenever he tried to he felt waves of nausea crash through his body and head pound as if his own body wanted to do anything it could to forget and refuse to recall it. All he knew is that there was a huge hairy beast, almost like a gorilla. Standing above him and saying something that sounded like it was being said underwater. The scent of blood and death overwhelming him completely and he just couldn’t handle it. A gigantic hand reaching out forwards him, filling his vision as agony wracked through his body from his legs as he tries to force himself to move somehow. To run!! No.. It was too much. He shook his head to clear his mind and barely suppressed a shiver from even thinking about it now in broad daylight, taking the paper he scribbled back in his own chunky, messy scrawl.

_‘No. But I saw a man.’_

Her reply came quick, excitement obvious in the faster strokes of her favoured pen in a dark teal.

_‘Thought you never remembered anyone. Tell me more!!’_

Pausing as he held his pen above the paper, he thought again about the boy in his dream from before. Not quite sure as how to describe him. Sure he could’ve talked about the blonde hair and how he was already clearly handsome for someone so young, but he still found things difficult to describe when it came to him. Again he found his thoughts lingering on those eyes, blue and piercing. He could almost see them right now as clear as they were the first time. Though they were darker this time, focused as if in concentration and with years worth of bags from lack of sleep due to work responsibilities, but still the same mysterious things that he was desperate to see more of. Handing the note back to Nanaba, he noticed in mild horror just a second too late that he hadn’t even written a description of the mysterious teenager. Underneath her last comment, he had sketched a drawing instead. But the details were all there from the side parting of his fringe to the exact shape of those damn eyebrows that just suited him for some bizarre reason, it was all there as if he had seen the face a hundred times instead of only for a few seconds only that very morning. The confusion must’ve shown on his face, for Nanaba didn’t reply but instead the two concentrated on the class for the remainder of the hour looking forward to getting out already.

Luckily for them the day passed quickly; meaning it was lunch before he realised exactly what was going on. They sat and talked a little more before they would have to go their separate ways for afternoon classes, but the subject stayed clear from any of the subjects that morning which he was thankful for. The rest of the lessons on advanced law for once not dragging on like usual for some reason meant that soon it was the end of his day and Mike found himself walking slowly down the high street outside where he revelled in the sensation of warm sun on his bare skin. Nanaba had another class and then would usually spend an hour or two in the gym, so Mike knew to not wait up and that it was probably just best to go home and get started on some of his own homework. Maybe he would go for a walk through the forests if it wasn’t too late by the time he was finished, he mused as he walked past his workplace and waved at the man now on shift in Ginny’s place through the window, use walking the dogs as an excuse to go and get some more time for himself instead of sitting around and being forced to socialise with his family and hearing a million different stories about how their days had been exactly the same as always.

The journey back decided it wanted to take twice as long as usual and Mike found himself drumming his fingers impatiently on the tatty old armrest while the train paused for what felt like hours but must’ve only been a minute at every stop. He always told himself he should bring a book or something to keep him busy during times like this but he never actually remembered to ever do so. Maybe he should start on one of the essays he was supposed to start writing, but instead he just closed his eyes waited for time to pass by. Finally they pulled into the worn down little station and Mike got to his feet and trudged up the hill back towards his house at the top of the hill. As expected he was met at the door by two very excited bundles of fur and his youngest siblings announcing far too loudly that “Big brother Mike” was home at last which meant they finally could start putting on dinner.

Turns out that his work took far longer than anticipated and by the time he had finally finished with things and eaten dinner it had been dark outside already for over an hour. Mike sighed as he brushed blonde hair out of eyes for the millionth time (he told himself that he really should look into getting a haircut sometime soon) and looked out the window at the crescent moon hanging in inky blackness and wished that he could’ve had a chance to go for a run or something to kill a few hours before going to bed. He knew better though, his parents would lecture him as they had before about disappearing into the night for time alone should he get caught again. He could definitely do without suffering through that again so he would be a good boy and stay inside and find something, anything to do to entertain himself till then. An hour intense workout and then grabbing a hold of the controller to his xbox, he eventually managed to work himself to that state of exhaustion where he started to mess up on stupidly simple things on his game whenever his vision blurred too much to tell the difference between a road and the edge of a cliff. Figuring that the smartest thing to do was to go to bed and get some sleep, he changed into the old faded band shirt he used for nightwear and flicked off the lights, falling into darkness nearly as soon as his head touched the pillow to what he hoped would be a dreamless sleep.

\-----

It was dark outside, only natural since it was past midnight on a warm summers night. The full moon shone through the windows as elder soldiers patrolled the hallways keeping their eyes open in case any of the trainees were out of bed past curfew. They obviously weren’t doing such a great job as three such culprits were hiding around a corner, trying and succeeding to blend into the darkness hiding from the light from the candles dripping wax down their long thin stalks hanging on the walls at regular intervals. The boys stood in silence with baited breath until the guard finished up and moved along back along his usual route leaving the pathway to the front door clear.

“Told you we wouldn’t get caught.” a soft voice whispered. A voice that was instantly so familiar to him after years of hearing it. A shorter black haired boy looked awkward, as if he didn’t want to be there sneaking around against the walls with the others but was only going against his good conscience only because his friends would have no qualm leaving him behind if he chickened out. This person’s face wasn’t clear as the others; but it wasn’t a complete blur like everyone else either. He could just make out the shaved sides of his head, the rest of his hair falling forward onto his forehead. Again there was the sense of familiarity but he couldn’t pinpoint where exactly he had seen him before…

“Tch, Lets just get it and go..” This earnt him a knowing confident smirk, the blonde having complete faith in his own abilities to get the three of them to where they were going, unafraid of being caught and risking extra cleaning duties or double laps at training for the them all.

“We’re almost there, trust me.” Again with that brilliant smile and his two companions relaxed just a little at that show of charisma. They followed in silence running through the grounds till they reached their destination, a small sanctuary in the form of a deserted room, the lock having been easy to pass with the small key that the blonde produced from the pocket of his uniform jacket. There wasn’t much in there, not being a regularly used storeroom but instead one that was there just in the small chance that storage filled both others. From what they heard about budgets for the Military it was extremely unlikely that it would ever happen but they guessed that having a room ‘just in case’ was better than not having one at all. For now though it was just a place to hide for these cadets who were breaking the rules, who hurried inside and closed the door behind them. They lit a small lamp and hid it near the back to hide the light and avoid any suspicion from people who might walk past and see it from underneath the door.

He looked around, a little confused having thought that they were on their way to steal a small joint of meat or some bread from the kitchens that night, as did apparently the dark haired boy who started at the man they had followed about what the hell was going on. But the blonde was unphased, instead rummaging through a crate that had been hidden at the back beneath a white sheet. After a minute or two he pulled out what appeared to be an expensive brand of vine and a large loaf of fresh bread and cheese. Both the other boys confused at exactly what was going on, but it all was answered as a couple of glasses were brought out and a look of pure simple joy reflected in bright blue eyes caught his own.

“Happy birthday Mike.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now for something a little different..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to [Commanderbolo](http://commanderbolo.tumblr.com) for the amazing art for this chapter ;u;  
> You're an inspiration to me, wonderful person. The reason this fic is actually getting done. Thanks for being an incredible beta and source of inspiration~

Mike was just taking a the first bite into a freshly toasted bought-outside-of-school-grounds chicken sandwich when suddenly a pair of slender arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him just out of reach of his lunch. He wasn’t surprised by Nanaba’s appearance, having smelt her perfume approaching a minute before and so had expected the ‘surprise’ attack instead of a normal hello like any normal person. He didn’t even try to look phased knowing she wouldn’t be fooled by it, instead just looking up at her from where she stood behind him and gave her a questioning look as to why she seemed to be so much more excited that usual, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet as she always did when she was dying for someone to ask her about what she was thinking about as an excuse to start talking about it. A minute passed, Mike taking his time eating a mouthful of chicken and warm bread before speaking casually as if he hadn’t noticed his friend’s antsy attitude that was steadily growing with impatience as he avoided bringing it up.

“So what’s the news?” taking another bite, he settled down to listen to what was sure to be probably be a well-rehearsed story she had gone over several hundred times in her mind. She sat opposite him at the table, leaning on her elbows with her chin in her hands as she made sure to sit herself right in his vision to make sure to keep all of Mike’s attention on her.

“I thought you’d never ask!” She sighed exaggeratedly, though obviously there was a hint of teasing there just as always, “So, turns out it’s Harry’s birthday tomorrow. He’s having a party this weekend. And you’re going with me.” She obviously expected this to be of interest to him, leaving no question that Mike had no choice in the matter, but in all honesty he only knew the guy because he shared a class with him Thursday afternoons. He was more of a friend of Nanaba’s and was known for being incredibly sociable, pretty good looking, popular with pretty much everyone and a bit of a well-known flirt with every girl on campus, everything that Mike really wasn’t. He doubted that Harry would even knew his name since they hadn’t even spoken more than twice in the two years they attended this college, but since it was common knowledge that Nanaba would almost never leave Mike’s side this was probably how he gained an invitation at all.

“You know I’m not into stuff like that Nana-” he started, having not even bothered with parties for himself the past three years even for his eighteenth but instead just spent most of the day in bed before Nanaba had turned up with a cake and insisted they go for a run together to get out of the house for a bit. It had been nice, something he preferred to do since he always found himself to be a little socially awkward and would rather stick to a couple of close friends rather than larger groups.

“Come on Mikeyyyy, don’t make me go alone!!” she whined, eyes widening with false unshed tears and a slightly trembling bottom lip she knew that her best friend couldn’t ever resist despite years of trying to gain any sense of immunity to it. The result was a soft groan and a hand running through blonde hair in defeat, which had her perking back up again as if nothing had happened, clasping her hands together as she started reciting all the details about how that weekend would go which Mike somewhat managed to tune out since she would probably repeat it several hundred times more to make sure he knew anyway. “-and I’m taking you shopping after class tomorrow.”

Mike had been taking a drink of water when he choked upon hearing those words, luckily swallowing the liquid rather than spitting it out, it resulted in a coughing fit to try and clear his airwaves. Finally he managed to wipe away a few stray tears from the corners of his eyes and managed to gasp out a response. “W-what? Why?”

“Because you’ve worn that shirt for at least half of the time I’ve seen you this month. And I don’t think you own a second pair of shoes.” He opened his mouth to object but was cut off, “AND lets not even talk about your jeans. You need a new outfit for this. You have no choice, AND I KNOW you’ve been working a lot of overtime the past few weeks.” She pouted, leaving absolutely no room for him to argue so he stayed silent and forced himself to accept his fate.

\-----

The next day came way too fast for his liking and soon it was three o’clock and Nanaba was pulling Mike out by the arm out the school gates towards the town centre. The size difference made her attempts look almost comical and he would’ve laughed if not for the bottomless pit that had appeared at the bottom of his stomach from dread at being forced into clothes that were probably uncomfortable, didn’t fit properly or a disastrous mix of the two..

The first three shops had been complete failures. They had spent maybe five minutes browsing each of them, looking through colourful clothes on racks before Nanaba would pull him out promptly saying that the style wasn’t right or that the size wouldn’t fit him and that they really should try out the next place for something else. He humoured her at the next shop, trying on a few shirts with various designs that were apparently top of the range right now and a leather jacket that she insisted that he _needed_ to buy because he looked so good in it.

He soon found himself burdened with shopping bags not even an hour later, though only half were of things belonging to him since Nanaba found it necessary to buy an outfit to match his this weekend and picked up not only a new shirt, jumper and three skirts but a couple pairs of new shoes and a matching handbag too. Eventually they found themselves in one of the last shops on the high street looking for a pair of trousers to match the clothes they already had for Mike, Nanaba insisting that they would definitely have something for him here since she had bought her dad some jeans from here for his birthday maybe a month ago.

She had been rummaging through a shelf of various shades of denim while he stood there bored waiting for her to hopefully find something that would fit when she made a loud squeak of success and pulled out some black fabric from the pile, knocking a few other items onto the floor as a result of her rush to show off what she found.

“.... Oh hell no…” he grimaced at the tell-tell shape of a pair of skinny jeans that she held up with a look of excitement written all over her features at having found something in his size that she definitely approved of. “That’s never going to fit..”

“Oh come on, try it for me? I bet you have a great ass under there somewhere~ Pleaaase??” Knowing from experience that she would only whine and make a big fuss which would draw unwanted attention from anyone and everyone around if he completely outright refused, Mike sighed in defeat without even attempting to argue back, taking the jeans deciding to just humour her with at least trying them on. She shoved a few more clothes into his arms as he turned around and headed to the changing rooms, dreading the battle that was to commence when he got inside.

Closing the dark blue curtain that served as a barrier of privacy for the little cubicle at the back of the shop, he looked at the mirror and decided he might as well get it over with and set about unbuttoning and taking off his worn down, faded trousers till he stood only in a pair of plain black boxers. He never liked these places, the smell of a hundred other people (though the smell of feet always the strongest, something Mike hated with a passion) who had changed in there and whatever disinfectant spray they used to try and mask it which never really quite did the job well enough. After a solid fifteen minutes of trying to force his legs into the tight black material he heard Nanaba’s voice calling from the doorway separating the dressing room from the rest of the shop.

“You done yet?”

“Shut up! These things are difficult!!” He yelled back, hearing only a cackling laugh at his expense he grit his teeth and gave another hard yank to the trousers. Finally he felt them shift, getting to a place where they sat snug on his hips. Another few minutes passed trying to fit himself at least semi-comfortably inside the limited space without catching anything important in the zipper and eventually he managed to get the button done up. It took less than a minute to throw on the new shirt and taking a look at himself and criticising his appearance in the mirror, he summoned up the courage to leave the sanctuary of his little cubicle back into the hallway where Nanba would be waiting for him to give her opinion.

“Looking good!” She cheered as he attempted to walk over in a semi-natural fashion though it felt like his skin was far too tight to bend his knees to anything akin to how legs were supposed to work. He wondered why people would do this to themselves when he was struggling to breathe properly getting used to all the restrictions that came with this particular fashion. “Come on, let me see you~”

([Credit](http://commanderbolo.tumblr.com/post/81993284129/bolo-just-picture-mike-in-tight-pants-ooooh))

“Nana, they’re just not my style..” Rolling his eyes he gave a slow spin on the spot as he had several times already this afternoon while she watched and made mental notes about how things fit and how she thought he looked in what she picked out while occasionally making comments aloud about how she was right about him having a great ass, that damn she’d kill for a pair of legs like his.

“.... Oh…” He stopped hearing her soft gasp, looking over at where she stood staring at him. Specifically her wide eyes glued to his crotch where the fabric strained. “No wonder you took so long in there..”

“Stop staring!!” He instantly flushed bright red in embarrassment, feeling his ears burning as blood rushed to them as he stammered nonsense. Hands instantly lowered to cover himself and try and save some of what was left of his dignity before turning around and almost running back to the changing room to take them off.  
It took a lot less time to escape the confines of the jeans, though he nearly tripped and fell through the thin curtain half-naked while trying to wrestle them back down his thighs and ended up getting them caught on his feet. Luckily he managed to avoid any more embarrassment and got back to the shop floor feeling much more comfortable in his regular clothes.

He tried to refuse to take the jeans, but Nanaba insisted she’d pay for these and forced him to promise that he would wear the outfit she had chosen out for him that Saturday night for the party.

There really was no arguing with Nanaba, her eyes again appearing to double in size and looking as if she could cry if he were to dare refuse her what she wanted. And Mike couldn’t resist as per always, playing right into her trap and admitting defeat, resulting in his best friend cheering at her own success, taking out her wallet to seal the deal as the cashier handed the bag containing the evil skinny jeans to Mike who grimaced knowing he would have to wear the dreaded things again; and next time for hours at a time.

\-----

Turns out Mike didn’t actually know anyone at this party, but then he expected that to be the case and so wasn’t surprised at all. He was welcomed inside the boy’s house where it was being held due to some of his guests still being underage and thus not technically legal to drink yet, though this obviously wasn’t stopping any of them from helping themselves to bottles of colourful drinks from the tables scattered around the rooms. It was what he had guessed any house party would’ve been like, though he never had been invited to one before. Music that he knew only because it was popular played over several speakers in the living room and kitchen as teenagers sat around or stood talking loudly among themselves while bowls of snacks and boxes of pizza were dotted around in case anyone got hungry.

He quickly made himself comfortable as he could on a large leather sofa, sipping at a cup of whatever it was he had been handed upon entry and watching contentedly as Nanaba flitted from person to person chatting away like the social butterfly she was. But she always returned to Mike’s side, never leaving him alone for too long and eventually curling up beside him and half laying on his lap as she discussed enthusiastically with some girls around music or the newest episode of Supernatural or something like that. He tuned it out and just let his own mind wander, not really concentrating on anything going on around him though occasionally bits of conversations would slip through. Some talk about some actor everyone was obsessing with recently, theories on the upcoming my chapter for some Japanese comic people were all reading at the moment and soon enough the subject he _knew_ was to pop up at some point yet again.

“So when are you guys gonna get together anyway?” Mike decided he wouldn’t say a word and instead remained sitting in silence, albeit a much more awkward one, masking his embarrassment at the change of topic with another drink which somebody had so-kindly refilled for him since his lap was currently still being occupied by a short blonde girl who made it quite clear she wasn’t moving for any reason just yet.

“Oh come on Kimi, you know it’s not like that~” She waved the question off as if it were nothing though there was no hiding the telltale redness tint to her cheeks, though it could’ve maybe been from the alcohol, he couldn’t really tell exactly since he never really found himself an expert at reading people when it came to anything other than scent. Right now he struggled to pick up on anything that wasn’t sweaty hormonal teenagers and the mix of sweet alcohol and salty snacks, his own drinks messing with his head and adding to all of this which threw him off completely and made him feel more vulnerable than he had in years, yet he felt relaxed despite it.

“Really now? You guys are always together.”

“Shut up, he’s my best friend!” The girls giggled among themselves, giving Mike a look he tried to ignore as Nanaba continued to deny any such accusations about any such romance in her life. The subject of their relationship had apparently come up quite a bit in the past few months according to the number of times Nanaba would whine about how people wouldn’t drop it. She’d usually complain over a cup of hot chocolate (generously filled with those little marshmallows and smothered in way too much whipped cream to be healthy) whenever he would stay over for their bi-monthly weekend sleepovers at her place when they would catch up on the newest episodes of Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, stay up all night reading comic books or rewatch the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the hundredth time. But those times spent together weren’t generally spoken about where anybody could overhear it since they both just felt like nobody else’s opinion really mattered anyway, yet the rumours still started up somehow much to Nanaba’s annoyance. But they both agreed to just brush them aside knowing that some people just thrived on gossip and looked for any excuse to try and make up some new story. But time and again it would be brought up suddenly when they least expected and never fail to fluster the pair of them much to the accuser’s amusement.

He didn’t know how long they bickered on and off about this before the subject changed several times more. Next thing he knew ‘one more drink’ had turned into four or five fruity mixes he didn’t know what included and things started to blur a little around the edges of both vision and memory. He remembered leaving the room for the bathroom at some point and being complimented and quite possibly hit on by a few girls as he passed down the hallway. But as time passed people slowly started to filter out as the night grew later, the large antique grandfather clock in the hallway chiming as each hour passed as if reminding people that they did have to leave eventually.

Typically Mike had to step up and take the role of responsible only-barely-adult, encouraging Nanaba every fifteen minutes to wrap up the conversation so they too could leave and head back to her place. After the third time of doing this he sighed, tugging her away a little harder than he would’ve liked but at least she got the idea and actually said her farewells this time to the other stragglers who were all in denial that this night had any need to end.  
The both of them could’ve taken a bus back usually but a check to his phone, which percentage was dangerously close to giving out on him now after constant checks and a few texts from concerned parents making sure that he was safe and well, confirmed that they had missed the final one that went anywhere near her home a mere three minutes ago. So instead they would have to walk it, which neither of them really minded as it was a nice night and they could stick to main roads that were well lit- just to be safe.

Getting outside after being in a stuffy overcrowded house felt like a blessing to Mike, who breathed in the night’s air and let the crisp chill fill his lungs and clear away the sweat and cigarettes from who knew exactly how many people had turned up there in the end. He really didn’t mind the cold, usually preferring his morning workouts to be on a winter’s morning where he didn’t have to worry about overheating. Nanaba had stolen his scarf that he’d brought along ‘just in case’ and had been teased by said friend about how it wouldn’t be needed, but obviously that was clean forgotten as the thick wool was wrapped tightly around her thin neck to keep away any cold, nearly trailing onto the ground for where it was designed for someone a lot taller than she was. It was quiet out now since it was coming up to midnight, they were just far out of the main town to be away from any clubs or bars that may be open and only had to walk maybe an hour through streets lined with houses. Possibly they would run into another drunk who’d be making a noise, but most likely they wouldn’t see anyone the entire journey and just enjoy the silence of the night as the stars and moon shone down far above the artificial light from the streetlamps they passed.

Nanaba soon was singing something softly under her breath which may or may not have been some sort of game theme tune, arms spread wide as she walked on the edge of the pavement in a tipsy stupor. Her alcohol intake hadn’t been as much as Mike’s own, but she appeared not to have such a tolerance to the stuff as he did and so instead found herself wobbling slightly as she continued to put one foot directly in front of the other as if walking along a tightrope.

“Hey.” He called, holding out his hand to her as she nearly overbalanced and tripped off the curb into the road.

“I dont need help!” But she took it anyway, her hand chilly as her slender fingers entwined with his own far larger ones. Things continued much the same way for awhile longer though neither of them could put a time on it, Mike’s eyes caught movement at some point in the darkness and spotted a rugged tabby cat stalking across the road. He followed the stray’s journey through several well-kept gardens and over walls as it hunted, enjoying something as simple as nature just taking it’s course.

“Hey Mike, can I ask you something?”

“Nn?” He looked up, a little confused but willing to listen to anything that was on her mind.

“You like me, right?” Now that was a little weird, had he ever left any sign that he didn’t? Sure he came off a little aloof about their friendship at times, but it had always been like that straight from the start and that carefree attitude they both took about everything was something they enjoyed having in common. So why was she asking things like this now of all times? Probably the alcohol talking, planting seeds of doubt in her mind and making her question if she really could trust the people around her. Well Mike had nothing to hide, and there was a sense of curiosity there which had him continue asking anyway.

“Of course I do, you’re my best friend.” He smiled, trying to reassure her with a soft squeeze to her hand which he still held as they walked together, albeit a little more tightly now. “What brought this on?”

“You’d do anything for me?”

“You know I would.”

“Trust me?”

“Always.”

“Really?”

“Nanaba, what’s wrong?” Mike couldn’t hide the concern from his voice anymore, things were starting to get a little too weird for his liking and he’d much prefer for the subject to drop. They had stopped walking by now, choosing instead to focus more on the conversation than the walk home which wasn’t going to go anywhere anyway.

“Kiss me.”

 “.... What….?” He blinked, assuming he must’ve heard that wrong. But she continued looking up at him with deadly seriousness written across her soft features.

“Kiss me.” She repeated, but it was almost as if time had stopped and Mike really found himself at a complete and utter loss of what to do. He hadn’t ever considered it seriously, the thought only crossing his mind during one of the many lectures from his mother reminding him about his still being painfully single and uninterested at the age of 17, where she had mentioned her by name knowing that the two spent so much time together. But he had stopped that one in it’s tracks straight away, knowing that nothing would ever come from over thinking the situation and if he were to have a future with someone, it would be at a time when he felt comfortable and ready to dedicate that much time to another person. Mike liked to think himself a passionate man and highschool romances just weren’t suited to his tastes. Nanaba was far too much a wild spark, completely uncontrollable if she wanted to be. She had been with a guy or two in the past two years, but she never stuck with them for too long finding she didn’t like to be felt tied down. It just wouldn’t ever have worked out between them both even if they seriously decided they wanted to try it; they were suited far better to be just friends.

He wanted to say something, anything to break the tension that had descended upon them both like a huge, thick velvet curtain, stifling the air around them making it harder to breathe and almost making the darkness darker as if blocking out the moon itself. But no words came out, which apparently Nanaba took as rejection. She was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, avoiding his gaze while she fiddled with the scarf around her neck, nervous habits Mike had never seen before on her and knew instantly he never wanted to see again. It was just wrong.

Before he had the chance to change his mind, he acted. Taking a step towards his friend he bowed his head a little, taking the hand not holding hers and ruffling it through her hair in a way he hoped would be a comfort before cupping her face and bringing it up from where it was hidden in shadow. He almost felt his heart break at the sight of real tears bordering the edges of those bright eyes he was so used to seeing fires burning from passion within. For her, he’d do as she asked. Leaning in, noting that she must’ve had more to drink than he originally thought with the smell the alcohol on her breath being far stronger up close, he hesitated only slightly before he shut his eyes and closed the difference till he felt their lips connect.  
It was chaste, short and innocent as if between childhood friends merely experimenting a thing they didn’t understand but had merely just seen other people doing and decided to copy. Mike would never tell her that it was his first time kissing a girl. He tried again though, guessing that he was supposed to open his mouth or something? But he had no desire to do so, finding the thought a little strange. Nanaba didn’t seem into taking things further either and so he kept it simple, doing all he really knew how to do with soft closed-mouthed kisses. After what he hoped would be an acceptable amount of time, he pulled away and looked down at her. She seemed to be deeply concentrating on something, but there was no sign of any unhappiness at Mike’s performance for which he internally sighed in relief. He was worried for a second that he was just a particularly bad kisser and she would be disappointed with it.

“Lets not do that again, ‘kay?” she said after a moment more lost in her own thoughts where Mike had been standing there feeling rather stupid waiting for her to finish up. She smiled and spun around on the spot, pulling Mike along behind her still not letting go of his hand while waving the other in the air as if with the intent to break any awkwardness that still clung to the air like flies or a bad smell. To say Mike was confused was a complete understatement, though he shrugged and went along with things knowing it would be far easier just to do so. Nanaba was sure to bring up things if and when it was important and apparently right now wasn’t the time for an explanation. Something was bothering her and he assumed what just happened was meant to help her figure it out, though being told about it would mean perhaps he would be able to help her more. No use dwelling on things now, if anything the experience confirmed to them both what they already knew in their hearts: they weren’t going to ever be a couple.

\-----

Neither of them said anything after that for a bit, walking side by side humming whatever came to their minds on the journey back, both silently looking forward to the time when they got in and could put on a cup of tea (most likely to be green and peppermint respectively), wrap themselves up in warm fluffy blankets and quite possibly fall asleep on the sofa with the tv playing one of their favourite cult movies as some sort of background noise.

At one point Nanaba got excited, squeaking and pointing enthusiastically at where she said she saw a fox hiding between two cars, Mike using the hold he had of her hand to make sure she wouldn’t go chasing after it and scare the poor thing even more. But the rest of the journey was thankfully rather uneventful. It took them a few minutes to fish the keys out of Nanaba’s new handbag which was already full of the same crap that filled every single of her others even though this was the first time she had apparently used it, but soon they found themselves in the familiar warmth of Nanaba’s father’s apartment.

Nanaba lived alone with her father in a nice little place not too far away from where Mike worked. She apparently had lived in the general area her whole life but only moved to this particular place two years before starting at the local college. Nothing was really ever said about what happened to her mother and why she wasn’t around and so as respect for her family Mike made sure never to mention it. It was a cosy little place, with just enough rooms for the small family and even a guest bedroom that her father assured Mike that would always be open for him should he need a place to stay. The older man worked most days and often well into the night to make a living for the two, but after a few times of meeting his precious daughter’s new best friend and after he had tested and was proven that he was able to trust the blonde he let him stay the night many times since, even when he knew he wouldn’t be home himself. Tonight was another one of those nights when he wouldn’t have returned home till nearly midnight himself and sure enough there was a note on the table about how he had gone to bed and there was the remainder of a lasagne in the oven kind Mrs. Number Twelve had made for them earlier that day in case they were hungry upon returning from the party.

Nanaba had already disappeared off into her room to get changed out of her party gear into fluffy pajamas and panda slippers so Mike went into the kitchen to put on the water for their drinks, taking a few teabags out of various boxes and dropping them into mugs ready for when the boiling liquid was ready. Soon the tea was brewing, steam slowly curling up from each cup into the air as the strong comforting smell of herbs filled the small apartment as Nanaba returned wearing one of the many shirts of Mike’s she had ‘rehomed’ and stolen for her own to lounge in about the house. The figured they were both too buzzed to sleep yet and instead chose to curl up on the sofa and bicker over what to watch on tv, by the time they finally agreed on something to watch from the many series’ they had put on hold on Netflix and through a joint effort managed to wrestle those damn jeans down Mike’s thighs and thrown them aside to deal with in the morning, their drinks were at optimum drinking temperature if maybe a little colder than they would’ve liked. Grabbing the blankets and extra pillows always kept in the corner of the room for precisely this purpose they jumped onto the sofa and made their nest.

“Sorry about earlier” Nanaba mumbled almost too quietly beneath her breath, if she hadn’t been sitting right beside him almost tucked up completely against his body in her usual spot he would’ve missed it. Dramatic music started playing as titles appeared on the screen but they both were barely paying attention to what was going on, knowing the movie off by heart anyway.

“Things okay now?” he whispered back, trying to reassure her that she had nothing to worry about. That he would be there should he ever be needed and would listen if she ever wanted to talk about absolutely anything. She seemed to get the message because she sat up a little straighter and started to speak again, though still avoiding looking at anything but the television screen but even so he could tell she wasn’t really watching it.

“It’s weird…” She paused, as if trying to figure out exactly how to say what was on her mind despite having probably spent a lot of time doing just that. “I assumed that I just never dated the right guy, so I thought that… well you’re perfect… But still there was nothing.” She relaxed just a little at being able to actually talk without fear of rejection, trying to make herself comfortable beneath the blankets, hugging a pillow and curling up closer towards him as if the warmth from both sides could cocoon her and keep away the big bad world outside with all of it’s problems and too many thoughts of things that really didn’t matter. Mike wrapped an arm around the blanket-wrapped Nanaba and squeezed gently as he spoke to reassure her a bit. They both knew he was no expert on relationship advice due to inexperience, but his words still helped to make her feel a little better, as they always did.

“Someone will come along eventually, you can’t force these things.”

“No, it’s not like that..” She disappeared almost completely under the blankets at that, her eyes barely visible in the gap between the material and messy blonde hair. There was hesitation there, as if the next part she wanted to say was especially painful to try and bring to light after being hidden away in the darkest corners of her own mind for so long. Eventually she managed to choke it out, sounding on the verge of tears  “I don’t think I _like_ guys that way Mike..”

Well whatever he had expected, it wasn’t that. He wasn’t a stranger to talk about sexuality, who was nowadays what with the Internet so readily available? There were a few same-sex couples that went to their college, but he didn’t know them personally and had never really thought about that in terms of anyone he knew. Now he did think about it more he supposed it did make sense, Nanaba’s short term relationships with men never working out and preferring to hang with friends from her hockey team when possible only being the tip of the iceberg the more his thoughts lingered on it. Even the situation from maybe an hour ago finally made sense with Nanaba’s desperate attempt to see if she really did have no interest in men in any sort of romantic intention. Naturally Mike wanted to help her somehow and make it a little easier for his best friend, but he wasn’t sure exactly how he could actually do anything. The most obvious issue being the fact that he was a guy, he couldn’t just meet a woman and ask her to go on a date with Nanaba… Could he..?

“Didn’t that gay bar open up in town?” He asked, slowly as if he wasn’t quite sure exactly what he was saying himself. He remembered overhearing a conversation about a new place opening nearby. Some place named “Cloud Nine”..? Something like that but he’d have to double check. That would be something they could try out, right? Apparently it had a nice atmosphere, pretty cheap drinks and a decent music taste according to the people talking about it.

“Yeah but I can’t go there on my own..” her soft voice sounding apprehensive but there was an element of curiosity in there too. She was definitely interested and Mike instantly knew that he had suggested the right thing.

“I’ll go with you.”

“What? You’d do that for me? But what about your family?” She shuffled out of the blankets, unable to hide her surprise. It was no secret that Mike’s family had a very old fashioned background and thus had an outdated view at all things new and unusual. One of those things they had a particularly strong opinion on being homosexuality. Mike had always had an open mind, something that only grew as he left his village and explored places outside of it. He still continued to go with his family to church on the weekends he spent at home, but he didn’t quite feel entirely comfortable with everything they taught now he had experienced things from a different angle in life. But he would never tell them this, playing the good son and just continuing with doing as he was told to make things simpler. Secretly though he looked forward to getting away and living his own life someday, whenever he figured out exactly what he wanted to do.

“I offered didn’t I? They don’t need to know.” And he didn’t plan to let them know, they would probably kick up a huge fuss if they knew he was going to a gay bar in fear of their little boy becoming corrupt. They’d object even further if they knew he was going to take his potential ‘future wife’ there to try and help her meet another woman. Heaven forbid they ever hear about that. No, things were going to stay a secret between him and Nanaba. That was for certain.

Blue eyes lit up in excitement, the fires within them _finally_ starting to burn once again and looking as if they’d stay that way. “You’re the best Puppy~ Thank you so much!!” flinging her arms around him in a big hug, tears in her eyes this time due to utter relief and happiness.

“I know, now watch the damn movie.” She made a disgruntled snort that was probably meant to be a laugh at some point, giggling to herself as she lay down again and started to lip sync the words the character on screen was shouting without any hesitation. They really did watch this movie too much.

The both fell asleep like that about half an hour later before the film even finished, both dreaming peacefully of the possibilities of the next weekend together when they would venture to do something new and so out of their usual comfort zone. They were woken up hours later by Nanaba’s father cooking breakfast for the both of them. For once, Mike mused as he worked at the crick in his neck from sleeping sitting at an awkward angle on the sofa instead of on a bed as he should’ve, he had woken up with no memory of anything unusual.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Nanaba finally go on their little adventure.  
> Discoveries are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so SO sorry for the wait. Life threw everything at me and I got caught in the mess.  
> I really hope this chapter makes up for it.

“So you coming camping this weekend?”

“Sorry?” Looking up from where he stood almost elbow deep in warm soapy water, he paused from where he was washing dishes that had not even twenty minutes ago been holding piles of home-roasted pork, potatoes and steamed vegetables. It was Mike’s turn on cleaning duty since he hadn’t been able walk the dogs like he usually planned, his essay on advanced law taking far more time than he had anticipated and by the time he had come to an acceptable place to finish for the night he had started to lose the light and his sister returned home announcing that the dogs had enjoyed their run through the nearby fields. So instead here he was, scrubbing hard at a particularly stubborn piece of leftover dinner that refused to leave the pot in which it had been cooked.

“The camping trip, with the guys from church. We’re all going to the lake for a few days, remember?” Now he thought about it, Mike did remember _something_ about being invited to the lake bordering the town’s borders for some weekend of hiking, campfire songs and sleeping beneath the stars. It happened pretty much every single year should the weather allow it and he had gone many times as a child to the same site. It had become something of a ritual to the children here, everyone’s parents having done the same thing when they had been growing up and passing on the same traditions hoping to keep some sort of unity between everyone, or something like that anyway. Mike had originally just shrugged and agreed to go again since he just assumed that he wouldn’t have plans and it would be better to be out the house apparently enjoying himself instead of staying at home being questioned as to why he was being so antisocial. But plans actually had changed this time, this weekend being the one that he and Nanaba had agreed upon to go ahead with their plans to visit ‘Cloud Nine’, the resident gay bar that had opened up a short bus journey away from where they went to college.

“Ah, I forgot. I made plans with Nan’. I’m staying with her this weekend.” This earnt him the usual roll of eyes and knowing glances between all of them at the mention of his best friend’s name. Typically he had expected it and brushed it all off, knowing that the only gossips about his non-existent love life worse than the ones at school were his own family. They loved Nanaba after all, her visits nearly always spontaneous when she just turned up to spend the day with Mike knowing he wouldn’t turn her away and they’d proceed lock themselves away to play video games on the second-hand tv they had bought for his room so he wouldn’t need to worry about others ‘borrowing’ any of his controllers should he leave them with the communal set downstairs. Other days they’d leave the house behind them and go out for a run through the tall trees in the forests, discussing stories Mike had recently dreamt about or just exploring different routes and following rivers until they were hopelessly lost for a few hours. Usually this would end up with them losing track of time and the sun for navigation and both relied on Nanaba’s phone’s better signal and battery life, using the GPS to lead them back towards a main road so they could get back to civilization. She always said she wished she lived in a area with more wildlife like he did, though Mike assured her that should she live here that she would think very differently of that. But he could see where she was coming from, the air was always fresh and clean in comparison to the city where she lived. He used to find his own nose reacted pretty negatively to the fumes and pollution back when he first used to travel there, but after awhile he grew used to it and even started to enjoy the business and smell of petrol and cigarettes which always seemed to overpower everything else in a way he had started to find reminded him of his home away from home.

He ignored all the regular talk about what a nice girl she was and how lucky he was to have a friend like her, finishing cleaning the final of the dishes and putting them aside to drain. There was a question hanging in the air about if he were really going to miss this trip to just play games or whatever, but nobody mentioned it. Mike assumed they just were all hoping that this weekend would just add to the non-existent Unresolved Sexual Tension (Though Heaven forbid they do any such thing before marriage, they would say, because that would be wrong should he dare push things too far) and would push him to ask her out at last and come back introducing her as his girlfriend and they could start mentally planning the next family wedding for him. He shuddered at the thought, though managing to pass it off as if it were because of the chill in the air by grabbing his jacket from where he had left it on the back of the chair. Excusing himself politely he fished his phone out of his pocket as he left the room, noticing the flash of light which he’d set to notify him should he receive a text. He didn’t need to check the name, nobody else would ever send him a message, he opened it.

**Banana:** _i got them! u ready for this???_

He smirked at the obvious excitement in the short message, silently thankful for her slightly-dodgy contacts for once in his life for managing to get ahold of fake IDs for the two of them within such a short space of time. He didn’t quite approve of the whole thing, but technically they weren’t eighteen for another month or three respectively, so just in case they were to be checked they needed some sort of proof that they were old enough to enter. Mike had gone along with it only because he had found out the age restriction _after_ he had made his promise and really didn’t want to go back on things after getting her hopes up. He just made a note to hide the thing away where none of his family could find it once he was done with this weekend and destroy it beyond recognition the moment his own birthday came and he could use his own card for identification.

**Me:** _yh can’t wait_

**Banana:** _same!!!! it’ll be amazing~ you’ll see!!_

The nickname ‘Banana’ had been a joke at first, a retort to her calling him ‘Puppy’ the first time. She knew he wasn’t keen on the dog references since people had using it only as a way to taunt him, linking the animal to his sensitivity to smells and his habit of following his friends around often silently as if he just needed the company. But Nanaba had changed all of that, instead of using it as a way to mock him, she used the term only affectionately. Upon questioning when he mentioned he wasn’t keen on the name she told him the story of how he reminded her of a golden retriever she once had. It had been larger than average, loyal, strong and her best friend for years before he had passed away due to an unfortunate accident. She spoke of her beloved pet with such fondness and love that Mike could no longer see the nickname as an insult, he considered it the highest honour to be able to bring back such happy memories to her and so told her that he was fine with it. Her eyes had lit up and almost jumped into his arms in the biggest hug that her smaller body was able to give, though she made him swear not to use the nickname ‘Banana’ in public ever again purely because she found it embarrassing since her dad would still use it constantly. But that didn’t stop her laughing as she watched him change the name in his address book to it, smacking his arm lightly as she changed his to ‘Puppy’ as revenge.

Pocketing his phone again he opened the door to his room, deciding he probably should pack his bag for the weekend since he had work early tomorrow morning. He hadn’t the faintest idea of how to dress, something he didn’t usually worry about at all since he just preferred to be comfortable. But since Nanaba had made such a huge fuss about his attire just for a little college house party, he knew she’d probably fuss about it even more since this was an even more important event to her. But then maybe she wouldn’t care? The idea of this was to get someone interested in her after all, all he was planning to do was to just keep her company and make sure she was okay. What he wore wouldn’t really matter. He considered sending her a text to ask her opinion and eventually did, to which she responded enthusiastically with a barrage of her own suggestions.

**Me:** _wut you wear to smthing like this?_

**Banana:** _oh god. i have it all planned out._

_first off, that green camo shirt. the one you wore to my birthday last year._

_you’ll match me_

**Me:** _its a litle small nan_

**Banana:** _dont care. wear it. looks good on u._

_your new jacket with that._

_and those jeans ;)_

**Me:** _no. no way. not again._

**Banana:** _bitch please. we’re using any excuse for you to wear those things._

_you know how much I spent on them?_

**Me:** _i didn’t ask you to buy them!_

**Banana:** _….. for me…..? :’(_

**Me:** _…_

**Banana:** _thank you puppyyyy~!!! :D_

He sighed in defeat as he tossed his phone onto the bed, making a mental note for later when he would panic that he had lost it that it slipped beside his pillow next to the wall. Standing up he stretched his arms above his head until he heard the satisfying pop of his joints resulting from sitting around too long writing the last of his essay, having chosen to try to get as much done as possible before he knew he wouldn’t have time to really focus on it. He rummaged around in his wardrobe for a few minutes and shoved a few sets of clothes into a bag, guessing that he’d be shoved into several different variations of things before Nanaba would be happy anyway so best to be prepared for the worst. When the blue rucksack was full of things he assumed he might need, spending a few minutes torn between a couple of pairs of boxers which obviously didn’t matter since nobody would see them, but chose the ones that fit best and looked nicest on him anyway just for his own self-confidence, he dumped it by the door of his room ready to grab in the morning on his way to work.

Tomorrow was Friday, but Mike’s classes this term were limited to the first four days a week- which he preferred since it always gave him a long three days off for the weekend to get things done or work another shift at work for some extra cash. His plan for the next few days was to leave early to help open the cafe in the morning before waiting for Nanaba to finish her own lessons and to meet him there before heading back together to her place. They had decided to spend that night catching up with the weeks tv together and go out on the Saturday instead where they hoped things would be a little busier and thus a little easier for them to blend in a little with the crowd and avoid any suspicion. That way they would also have all of the Sunday to rest and recover and talk about how they thought things had gone. This was the plan anyway and Mike would’ve almost prayed if he were actually at all religious that hopefully things would stick to it.

Guessing that he probably should finish up on his essay he forced himself back to his desk, not before grabbing his phone deciding he might as well listen to some music while he worked. Slumping into the chair he unlocked the machine with the intention to go straight to one of his playlists while he wrote his draft on paper, he was instantly distracted by the twelve new messages flashing from his inbox.

**Banana:** _mike. what do i wear??_

_seriously. help._

_should i go for a dress? or is that too much??_

_no, it’s okay. i got it :)_

_i think.._

_you busy??_

_mike :D_

_changed my mind. bring your combat boots instead of the converse._

_mike_

_d/w i just remembered you have work tomorrow so you’re probably asleep stupidly early~~_

_see you tomorrow yeah??_

_if you ‘forget’ those trousers i’m buying you a new pair!!_

He cursed aloud at the last one, forcing himself to his feet to grab the said article of clothing out of their hiding place to shove into the already too-full bag. She knew him too well, knowing somehow that he had planned to ‘conveniently forget’ them so he could avoid wearing them at all. But she also knew threatening to buy a second pair would mean she would find twice as many reasons to try and get him into them; and he liked to think that she pestered him plenty amount about it already thank you very much. No, he wasn’t going to suffer through that again when he could just give in and wait until she grew bored of it. Which would probably be never. He might as well accept the fact, he was stuck with this forever..

But right now he couldn’t really afford to think about this, he had other things to do and a busy weekend ahead of him. He pushed play on the playlist of his favourite movie soundtracks and put on his headphones to lose himself in the music and minimise any distraction, finding his pen he got to work aiming to try and finish things before his planned early night.

\-----

Ten, no eleven of them he guessed. He could smell the death and decay from here. It was like nothing he had ever smelt before, though there were definite traces he recognised now from the past. But the first hand experience with being so close to the real things were bringing an overwhelming sense of loss and despair. If anger and hate had a scent, this would be the exact way he would try to describe it. They mustn’t be too far now, only getting closer with every second they stood here. He gripped tight at the blades in his fists, trying to control his breathing and keep calm. He only had a limited amount of gas left and every decision from now on would count more than ever. Every single little action would mean the difference between life and death and that thought alone terrified him so much more out in the open for the first time, nothing in comparison to being told it over and over in classes. He stood there trying to force his body to move but it felt sluggish. As if he weren’t truly in control of his limbs.

A loud thump. And another. Growing louder and louder.  
Footsteps.  
Drawing closer…

Then he saw one. It must’ve been perhaps ten meters tall. An ugly, stumbling mess of disproportionate limbs. A mess of brown hair upon it’s head and a face which was distorted into a cruel smile. Irony perhaps that this be the first titan he ever faced one-on-one, it looked almost glad to have found a soldier so fresh out of training. He was an easy target, easy prey for something so used to killing. For a second it crossed his mind what he would taste of as he saw the dark bloodshot eyes catch a hold and focus on him.

Hearing a scream from somewhere nearby he gathered that the others must’ve now noticed the severe danger they were in. Everything had been going to plan at first, the goal was get to a small abandoned town just beyond this forest to gather supplies from a nearby deserted safe house. They were told that there were piles of weaponry, gas cannisters and even frozen food that could perhaps be salvaged and brought back to the walls, all of it had been left behind from when the first serious evacuation had happened back when titans first pushed people back. Back when people had no choice but to run, having reached the point of needing to build such huge walls for protection. It was safer, easier to run and hide rather than risking thousands of civilians every single day as waves of the creatures kept pushing back those risking their own lives to try and protect them.

They had been following their scheduled route and everything was going exactly the way it should’ve, but the sudden appearance of a deviant titan forcing it’s way out into the open shattered the ranks and caused the group of new graduates to scatter for a moment. It wasn’t long before the Scouting Legion veterans sprung into action take it down and they soon managed to kill it, but it was too late... The damage was already done.  
In mild panic people had fled into the forests for cover knowing that the titans would have far more difficulty in tracking and chasing them through the thick trees, but this meant that it would be far more tricky for any co-organised attacks from the people so new on the field. It would all come down to instinct now, especially as that first attack had seemed to attract more to the scene..

So here he was, standing rooted to the spot trying to quickly work out the best course of action that would ensure he would come out of this alive. The smell of terror all around him so thick he could almost drown in it should he not concentrate. He swallowed, looking up into the face of death and destruction as it loomed closer. The titan was kneeling down now, bending onto all fours to try and lean in to get closer as if to get a better look of it’s prey before finishing him off. Suddenly it lunged, an arm nearly as thick as the tree trunks that towered around them swinging down closer as if to crush him beneath it’s weight. But the result would be far worse than that, should he get caught he would be devoured alive and years of training to fight in this situation would go completely to waste. He couldn’t die now. Not when he finally felt he had something new and important to live for.

He probably had milliseconds left, but luckily that was when the impending doom kick started something within him, his adrenaline fueling his actions and his body acted as it had been taught. Without a second thought he shot out a line, successfully catching it deep in the monster’s fleshy arm that braced it’s body against the ground. He launched himself into the air, avoiding death’s grip by a hairs breadth, swinging himself beneath it’s huge body in an attempt to get out of direct harms way. He was going to make it!

Another scream and a sudden waft of fresh blood. The other titans were attacking, catching onto those less mentally prepared for their first mission. It was a disturbing thought, every single person was risking their lives to try and do some good for the sake of Humanity. Even those who had years of experience were still terrified to be put into this situation and yet here he was one of the top ten of the recently graduated trying to run away to somewhere safe rather than standing tall and fighting.. He had to stay strong despite the fear; to fulfil his duty as he had sworn to in his oath when offering up his heart to fight not even a full week ago during the introduction to the Scouting Legion. No, he wouldn’t back down now. If he was going to do things, he was going to do things right and to the best of his ability. He had earnt his place so high in the top ten and he was going to prove that it wasn’t wasted.

He shot another wire this time aiming into the titan’s thigh, another success had him propelling up and around to the titan’s exposed fleshy back while it tried to stand up now it’s source of entertainment had escaped it’s advance and moved so quickly from it’s vision. It stumbled a few steps trying to figure out somehow what exactly was going on and Mike took these few precious seconds to his advantage. He released the previous hook before sending the next into the titan mere meters from his goal, the gas he released shooting him high into the air giving him a perfect view of the back of the creature’s head, neck and shoulders. His heart had leapt into his throat, drowning out the sounds from all around him of other soldiers now fighting back with all their might. The loud throbbing noise in his head making him feel even more nauseous than the cold metallic stench that burned inside his nostrils as he pulled out his blades and aimed at that one weakness that would provide him instant victory.

Time seemed to slow as he neared his target, swords raised as gravity pulled him closer. His arms swung the weapons downward and felt them slice through the titan’s neck as easily as a hot knife would cut through butter. Though the comparison made his stomach jolt at daring to think of food at a time like this. There wasn’t an experience he could ever compare to the sickening sound of the tear of flesh that fell away accompanied by the spray of warm, thick blood from the wound. The body began to drop and Mike found himself falling with it now that he had nothing to hold onto. Shooting a final line into a tree he managed to secure a safe place to land as the titan finally fell to the floor with a sickening crunch. He shuddered as he watched the thing for a second, his limbs trembling as his body started to lose it’s adrenaline rush. He tried to catch his breath, thankful that already the blood soaking through his uniform in a sticky disgusting heat was starting to evaporate into steam and would soon be a mere bad memory. Reality was starting to sink in, though it was still hazy as if he were still watching his own actions from a back seat while his body acted on it’s own accord. He had killed his first titan. Alone. But there was no time for celebrating right now. He had work to do..

\-----

_Meh meh meh meh-_

He woke with a start, slamming his hand down onto where his phone was blaring out it’s alarm signalling that it was now 5am. He squinted as the screen lit up bright in the dark, almost enough to blind a man he thought as he unlocked it and muted the ringing. Once the noise had stopped he let his head fall back onto the pillow and groaned, for some reason the early morning almost painful to wake up to. He tried to dwell a little on what he dreamt last night, but it was too late and it had faded into a hazy smoke before slowly disappearing completely. Knowing if he put of getting up any longer he wouldn’t do so at all, Mike managed to throw his sheets aside and get to his feet. For some reason he still felt exhausted but to an extreme he hadn’t experienced in a very long time, muscles straining as he moved despite not having worked out for a couple of days. He made a note to change that, assuming this pain had something to do with the break in his regular routine and instead sitting around and being stuck at a desk.

Eventually he managed to force his body to move, though it protested every action with a twinge of stiff pain as he stumbled around trying to find his footing in the darkness of the hallway as he made his way to the bathroom. He flicked on the light, again wincing at the sudden change of dark to bright artificial light and actually had to double take as he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror.

For a second he could’ve sworn it wasn’t him staring back, the man there looked perhaps ten years older but somehow he knew that it was himself, all signs of childhood had been completely erased to create someone he didn’t know but looked so familiar it caused him to feel sick. His hair was shorter, though still the same dirty blonde, but cut roughly into something that was meant to be practical though it was starting to grow out and stray bangs daring to fall lightly into his eyes. His jaw stronger and dusted with hair that was styled into a similar (if not the same) style that he naturally worked on himself. But what got to him most were the eyes. They were dark, as if having witnessed countless deaths and horrors that he could only dream of. But there was also a fire in those depths, a spark that swore that he wouldn’t stop fighting until the very end when it became impossible for him to continue...

But upon his second glance, his usual reflection stared back at him with confusion etched across it’s features. It must’ve been because of the lack of sleep or something like that, it wouldn’t be the first time he saw things that weren’t really there when tired or delirious after all. No, it was just a vision left from a dream and it would be better off forgotten. He was being stupid to dwell on it. He splashed some water on his face trying to will himself more awake and to focus on what he actually needed to do today. After a quick shave to neaten up the mess of stubble that had grown overnight wanting to neaten up and feel professional for work today, he snuck out of the bathroom and made sure to switch off the lights to try and avoid waking up any of the others. He knew that they all took their sleep almost too seriously and especially when Mike had starts when he needed to be up pre-dawn they were quick to anger should he disturb them before their respective alarm clocks woke them. It had happened a couple of times before and was quickly put on his list of things to avoid ever again and at all costs if he could.

Only once he was fully dressed and heard the soft click of the door locking automatically behind him did he let out the breath he didn’t even realise he had been holding. He adjusted his bag as he walked, closing his eyes to enjoy the fresh air tinted today with the sweet scent of dewdrops on the grassy fields surrounding his pathway. Things felt so peaceful despite this being the start of a hectic and busy weekend, he liked to think that it was a sign that things were going to go well. Hearing the call of birds beginning to awaken themselves, he looked around and caught sight of a pair of them flying together, heading East towards where the sun was slowly beginning to rise from behind the horizon.

 

Turns out this particular Friday went even more painlessly than even Mike expected. For once there was no overwhelming queues that lead completely to the door of the shop, but things were kept under a pretty decent level of control. Mike spent most of his shift on the coffee machine keeping himself as busy as possible and enjoying the repetition soon lost himself and concentrating only on whatever order his coworker shouted out for him to make. There was a small disturbance when he made a few mistakes, but only when there were three particularly large orders all from representatives of different offices all located nearby. Of course they had to all doing a coffee run for their departments all at the same time, but even so he only mixed up four of the fifteen drinks and quickly fixed things before too big a mess was made and anyone got upset about having to wait.

Other than that one issue though, things went well and faster than he expected. He completely lost track of time churning out drink after drink and probably wouldn’t have realised it was 3 o’clock unless a member of management hadn’t pat his shoulder and told him that his shift was over. He left the business of the shop floor behind him as he closed the door marked ‘staff only’ behind him to head to the staff changing room, pulling out his hair tie he tried to fix it up a little neater, making sure to catch the strays that had escaped the past few hours since the last time. It felt so good to finally get out of the uniform now stained with ground coffee and hot milk from where he had narrowly missed spilling a jug at some point. He wrinkled his nose at smell of coffee and sweat as he shoved the black branded shirt and apron into a carrier bag to keep it away from his weekend clothes. Once dressed he grimaced at still feeling a little disgusting from the physical work and grit still left behind despite the new clothes. He could still smell everything clinging to him almost like an aura and it always made him feel a little sick, but he knew that it was only due to his sensitivity to smell that it was quite so bad. Nobody else would notice it and once he got back to Nanaba’s he could borrow her shower to clean up properly so all he had to do was wait until then for a proper wash. Knowing that he had that to look forward to, he gathered his things put them away and making to sure grab the drink he had made himself before finishing he made his way back down the stairs to the main shop.

He almost collapsed into one of the large squashy brown sofas in the corner of the cafe, worn down with years worth of summers used as a climbing frame by kids from large families visiting for an afternoon out and perhaps hundreds of couples huddled together over a hot chocolate in the winter. Sighing in content at the sudden comfort after hours on his feet he pulled out a graphic novel from his bag. He was meant to meet Nanaba here but she wasn’t due to finish her own classes for another half an hour at earliest. So he plugged himself into some music and let himself get lost in the adventures of his favourite volume of Spiderman, only half paying attention since he had probably read this volume a hundred times at the very least. Apparently this succeeded at making time fly by as the next thing he knew the book was pulled from his hand by a very excited looking Nanaba.

“So you ready?” she said, a huge grin plastered across her face. Without waiting for an answer knowing that it would be a positive one anyway, she offered a hand to help pull him to his feet. He didn’t take it, knowing that he’d be more likely to pull her down instead what with him being so much larger, but put his things away and got to his feet. She instantly launched into a story about something that had happened during her day and Mike being a little tired still listened without saying much, nodding when it was appropriate as she went on about some guy in her class and how a teacher obviously had a vendetta against her with changing the deadline to something she had yet to finish despite knowing that she had extra Hockey practice this week in preparation for the semi-final match in a local competition. It was like that the whole journey back, which didn’t take too long since Nanaba had prepared for knowing they would both be a little fatigued and parked her car nearby. They drove to her usual playlist of cheesy 90’s rock, pop and the occasional something newer that she had added upon a whim, the windows open while Nanaba sung along and Mike closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation of the wind on his face and the passing scents from the places they passed by on their way back. Wafts of grease and fried meat from burger joints, various smells of nature from the parks and a waft of something in the air that he instantly knew that it would definitely rain within an hour despite nothing having been said on the news about any such weather this week.

Soon they were pulling into a familiar driveway and climbing the small set of stairs to Nanaba’s house, where her father wouldn’t be home for the entire weekend and had left them both in charge. Tossing the keys aside into the little pot reserved for them at the front door, Nanaba announced that she would be making dinner for the two of them tonight and that Mike better get his ass into the shower so that she could get started with things after he was done.

Mike was hardly going to complain, he headed towards the room he usually slept in and dumped his bags there and grabbed the washbag prepared for such things that he kept always stocked up for trips away from home, he hurried into the bathroom. Quickly stripping himself, the sensation of clean water washing away the layers of coffee grit and sweat caked on his body was something he could nearly cry in relief to. Letting out a content sigh he made to replace it instead with the smell of mint and tea-tree from a small green bottle of shower gel, enjoying taking things a little slower now that he had the worst of things done. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he had taken but didn’t want to push it, so finished up quickly after that, rubbing his hair to dry it off a bit and pulling on some boxers so that he wouldn’t head back into the hallway in nothing but a towel. By the time he was fully dried and dressed Nanaba waved him off into the living room saying that she wanted to have her own quick shower while dinner was cooking and to go and that she wouldn’t take too long.

Pulling out his laptop and small graphics tablet he decided to make himself comfortable on the sofa knowing that she’d probably take her sweet time with things. Nanaba had bought him the tablet for his birthday last year after seeing yet another of his sketchbooks full near to bursting of little scribbles and notes in his bag. She had ranted for hours over the period of several weeks, pestering him about how his drawings and ideas were interesting and he really should share them with other people instead of keeping them stored in boxes beneath his bed or buried deep in his closest once he was done with them. Naturally he had declined, his nerves getting the best of him and years of being teased contributing to his worrying about being judged further for the dark themes and horrific images he sometimes drew. Far from discouraged she encouraged him instead to create an online blog where he could post them using an alias and nobody would be any the wiser and he had done just that. They spent a day scanning in various sketches that he wouldn’t admit out loud that he was proud of, uploading them to his little space on the Internet and slowly building up something he admitted he was proud of. Though he enjoyed just sketching with a pen and paper, the tablet had given him even more freedom to create something a little more abstract whenever the muse took him.

His blog slowly became almost like a diary of all his thoughts he had relating to this other world in his mind. Sometimes he would sketch maps to extreme precise details, beautiful landscapes to which he could describe exactly how he thought it felt to ride a horse through, or write up theories or small paragraphs when he couldn’t quite remember what he had thought of but wanted to put something down anyway. Occasionally he would get a few likes or a comment on a picture, but his far most detailed and popular posts were those few times he had managed to convince himself to publish something about the monsters that haunted his dreams.

He didn’t have many followers but it didn’t make a difference to Mike. Every single like was a sign that someone out there actually liked what he did and it was a huge encouragement. He started to recognise a few usernames after a while who would go through his galleries and occasionally make small talk about things. A few of them he considered friends despite them not really talking too often, but Mike wouldn’t get offended should they go a week or two without saying a word to him. After all he considered himself a bit of a social recluse and assumed that eventually everyone would grow bored of him anyway and wouldn’t blame them should they do so. He didn’t find himself particularly interesting after all, so why would anyone else?

Clicking over to the tab he kept permanently open for the blog he noticed a little flashing icon indicating that he had a new message. A little surprised; he clicked on it. The sender was anonymous.

_‘I believe you._   
_I’ve seen them too._

_You’re not crazy Mike.’_

Mike felt his stomach drop, feeling almost like a bucket of ice had been thrown over his whole body. He looked at the message for a minute, not quite sure how to take it. Was somebody making fun of him? Had someone perhaps from school found his blog and decided to harass him here where they could hide their identity instead of doing so out in the open? Mike had made sure never to use his real name online at all, more out of preference rather than fear of online predators. Even the people he spoke to on here called him by the name of ‘Hound’ and were perfectly fine with that. It couldn’t really be a lucky guess that somebody knew his name, right..?

He hovered the cursor over the delete button for almost a minute before clicking, the hesitation just making him feel worse about the whole thing. But not to get rid of the thing would mean he would have to just come back to it later; so better it be gone and done with. Having it deleted helped definitely to make him feel a little better and soon he was distracted from the thought completely by Nanaba returning to the room with two plates of steaming hot pasta, announcing that she had found the sequel to some terrible horror movie they were talking about last week and that they should begin the evening watching it starting immediately. Nodding and closing the lid to the laptop he put it aside and shifted to grab the remote as she ran to grab her usual blanket again before taking her normal seat at his side.

Mike didn’t think anymore on the subject of the mysterious message for the rest of the weekend.

\-----

Mike was awoken by the sound of Nanaba humming to herself while sat on the floor riffling through the bag he had brought with him and pulling out clothes. It wasn’t unusual Nanaba behaviour to do things a little odd like this and it wasn’t the first time she had gone into his bags to look for things, she would stop if he had a problem with it but since she knew his biggest secrets anyway he felt he had nothing left to hide. There had always been this mutual trust between them and Mike wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Good morning to you too.” he mumbled, rubbing grit out of his eyes as he sat up, trying to hold back a yawn but failing miserably at it.

The reaction was priceless. She squeaked loudly in surprise, jumping up a foot in the air and nearly falling down again in surprise. Spinning around on the spot to face him, he could see that she was flushed bright red probably from embarrassment at having been caught but mostly from the shock. Mike was usually a heavy sleeper and so she must have assumed that he wouldn’t awake for another hour or two if left to his own devices.

“DON’T do that again!!” she huffed, a hand held to her chest as if to help calm down her racing heartbeat while she caught her breath. Mike chuckled as she complained, instead looking around for his shirt that he somehow had shed during the night which apparently had fallen to the ground a small distance away. By the time he had swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached down to grab the thing Nanaba had returned to her inspection of his clothes now littered all over the floor as she sorted them into little piles. Smiling she held up a shirt and laid it down on the side he assumed was her ‘approved’ things before suddenly emitting an excited squeak and pulling out a familiar pair of black jeans.

“You brought them!!” she exclaimed, as if proud that he had remembered despite the not-so-subtle reminders about it for nearly two weeks which made it impossible to forget despite trying his very best.

“Would’ve made me treck back home if I had.” Mike mumbled, trying to hide another yawn as he pulled his shirt back over his head and pretending not to notice the raised eyebrow from his friend. They both knew it was true though. A glance to the clock on the wall showed that it was coming up to noon, he was a little surprised that he had slept in so late, usually he found himself waking up around dawn even if he had no need to be up so early. He must’ve just been more tired than he thought, but he felt fine now so he guessed it didn’t matter really.

“Want pizza? I ordered pizza.” Changing the subject was typical Nanaba behaviour, but she did seem a little more skittish today. There was a slight stiffness to her movements, though incredibly subtle Mike had always been observant and so added to the scent of unease in the air he couldn’t quite describe it was obvious that she was uncomfortable. Mike assumed that this was her way of trying to overcome the nerves for their plans tonight, it was a little unnerving seeing this side of his friend again but they both knew that this would be a great help for her.

“Sure.” He nodded, offering a hand to help her to her feet before they both headed to the kitchen for some breakfast.

They spent the wait doing all the usual things they did on a Saturday. The pizza soon arrived and they sat down eating out of the box while browsing Netflix, deciding to marathon some old tv shows they used to watch as kids, Nanaba even going so far as to bribe Mike with a slice from her half of the pizza to loudly sing along the Pokemon theme song with her. To an outsider perhaps it would seem as if she was a little controlling about everything, but Mike knew that she always felt more comfortable when she knew exactly what to do in a situation and he was more than happy to follow along with things. This was probably the reason as to why she was so out of it today, the plans tonight were a huge step for her to take and she was still very unsure about how things were going to turn out. While it was very off-putting to have an uneasy Nanaba, Mike just did his best to keep reminding her that he was there for her no matter what and by the hand ruffling through his hair and lightly stroking at his neck from time to time he could tell that she noticed and really appreciated it.

Eventually they mutually decided that they really should begin to get ready. While for Mike it was just a matter of getting dressed and having a quick shave to clean up, Nababa had been complaining about not knowing what to wear pretty much all day and kept changing her mind and asking for Mike’s opinion on everything. He shooed her away to her own room while he got ready knowing that it was better just to let her get on with things or else they’d be there all night stuck between choosing two shirts that might as well have been the same colour as far as Mike was concerned. Once alone at last he picked up the clothes she had carefully picked out and left on the bed for him and began to get changed. It wasn’t long before Mike sat on a chair parked outside Nanaba’s bedroom door, now dressed in a slightly-too-tight green v-necked shirt, skinny jeans that were thankfully becoming easier to put on now after a few wears though were still uncomfortably tight in some areas, finished off with a pair of worn combat boots and leather jacket. Personally he thought he looked a little over the top for just going out to a bar, but he wasn’t really the expert with the subject so he trusted Nanaba’s judgement as always. After perhaps another ten minutes waiting, Mike quickly grew bored and found entertainment in complaining loudly about how long she was taking to do something as simple as getting dressed.

“Are you done yet?” he called out for the fifth or sixth time though it had been barely two minutes  since the last time he had asked. He had resorted to getting out his 3DS for a few rounds of some rhythm game he had bought last week to keep himself entertained on the long journeys he frequently took.

“Shuttup!! I’m almost there!” There was a clatter of what sounded like she had dropped something into the sink in her small en suite followed by a string of curses that she didn’t even try to hold back. Looking at his watch he knew they actually had a fair bit of time before they had even planned to leave. The club had opened half an hour ago but they didn’t want to arrive too early, instead planning to get there by the time the atmosphere was at it’s most natural and relaxed with the evening in full swing.

“Do you need help?” Teasing her probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do right now, but at least it go her mind off thinking too much about anything else. The bickering to and fro would calm her in a sense. Hopefully.

“Mike, I swear to God. Shut _up_.”

After what felt like at least another hour the door finally opened with a soft click and Nanaba finally emerged fully dressed from her bedroom. Mike was actually stunned into silence at the sight. It wasn’t that Nanaba didn’t make an effort with her appearance, because she always did want to dress up and feel pretty. But this was a whole other level he hadn’t ever expected to see on her but it suited her perfectly.   
Her short hair was straightened just enough though the ends still curled slightly inwards, styled to look naturally messy in such a way which was probably fashionable. Dark eyeliner combined with powders enhancing her eyes and bringing out the colour and lips covered in a pink gloss, shining with glitter perhaps? Next came a black dress, one shoulder exposed and down to her knees, lace detailed trims to give it just something a little extra special. Crimson tights matched the red gemstone in a necklace that Mike remembered buying for her at a festival last summer, with a pair of black heels she had worn only for very special occasions and formal events when appearance was more important than comfort.

“Is it too much?” she asked hesitantly, fiddling with the hem of the dress. But at the shake of his head the relax in her stature was immediately noticeable and she laughed in relief. “Ahaa, good. I was worried. Okay, get up. Let me look at you!” confidence returned in full strength, she made an up motion with her hand impatiently as if she had been the one waiting for hours for him instead of the other way around. He did as she asked without question, spinning on the spot slowly while she analysed his appearance herself. But everything seemed to be absolutely fine and she grinned and bounced lightly on the spot.

“You’ll fit right in puppy~” she laughed, ruffling his hair from what she could reach with the added height bonus as if proud of him. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him towards the door, almost vibrating in excitement.

“Come on! Lets go!!”

\-----

“What if it all goes wrong? What if they think we’re a couple? Will they let us in?”

“Calm down, it’ll be fine.” He reassured, a hand on her shoulder putting an end to her frantic questions being whispered beneath her breath. Painted nails dug into her palms as she fidgeted looking for any way to distract her from the nerves threatening to expose them both, though it was more fear of her own quest for self-discovery and being recognised by anyone here rather than the being underage and illegally using fraud ID to get into a nightclub. It was unnerving to see her usual confidence reduced even further to such a state and Mike wasn’t a hundred percent sure on how to fix it. So instead he squeezed her lightly trembling shoulder in a way he hoped would bring some comfort and was relieved to find that she did appear to relax.

They had decided to take a taxi to get the venue and arranged for one to pick them up three hours later, figuring that it would be the safest and quickest way to get there and back without worrying about anything what with being in the slightly less savoury side of town so late at night. Mike would’ve been fine on his own but assured Nanaba that he would rather keep her safe and comfortable rather than risk anything ruining her night. There was a short queue outside Cloud Nine, which turned out to be a little smaller than he had expected. Well he hadn’t quite been sure what to expect if he were truthful, but it wasn’t quite this. The exterior looked quite worn down and old, though neon lights that spelt out the clubs name in a cursive script in a rainbow gradient stood out bright and modern against the wood that had been painted black. A couple of rainbow flaps were hung on each side to make it clear that this definitely was the place they were looking for. There was no mistake about that.

A bouncer stood by the door; a large, balding middle aged man that Mike thought quite the stereotype of the job, who was checking IDs and letting in small groups every few minutes. Everytime the door opened as someone entered they could hear music pounding loudly from within, bringing back a mix of nerves and excitement before the closed soundproofed door drowned it out again and left them in an eerie silence only broken by the chatter of the other people waiting outside in line. Soon it was their turn to present their cards to the stern looking man, though he may just have been tired, who scanned them both for almost a full minute. There were a few seconds where Mike honestly believed that they wouldn’t make it inside, but then to both of their great relief the plastic cards were handed back to each of them and the door was opened for them to pass through. Once they were though Nanaba’s hand clasped tightly around his own, squeezing it as if she could barely believe they had gotten away with it either.

They walked down a long corridor, carpet soft beneath their shoes that they couldn’t quite tell the colour of because of the lack of proper light. In fact the only light was a neon strip along the ceiling glowing a bright blue to lead them forward. As they walked the music gradually got louder until the corridor opened up onto a large open room taken up mostly by a dance floor filled with bodies moving to the music. The air was thick with the scent of alcohol, sweat and sexual tension Mike was almost be overpowered by that alone. He had to really focus to try and clear his head a little what with the pounding beat of the music added to the flashing neon lights and the smells making him feel dizzy, but it was an enjoyable experience almost as if he felt tipsy without having yet had a drop of alcohol. Looking around he noticed that there were two bars, one on either side both with small crowds around them waiting to order while the bartenders mixed drinks and flipped cups and glasses with practiced expertise. The rest of the room was full of tables and booths around the outside where the lights were dimmer and groups of people sat with their drinks taking a rest from the dance floor but still being almost a part of it. There was also a staircase which led to balconies overlooking the floor below presumably with another bar for those who wanted a little more privacy up there, but overall the modern interior was the complete opposite of what the shabby outside of the club hinted at, which was a welcome surprise to them both who expected the place to be shady and uncomfortable.

“You grab a seat, I’ll go get us a drink.” Mike gestured at a nearby table where a couple of men had finished their drinks and were getting up to supposedly go dancing. Nanaba nodded and made her way over and Mike headed instead towards the bar, removing his jacket upon feeling the temperature rise as the crowd grew thicker around him. He wasn’t generally too fond of crowds but lost in the atmosphere he didn’t seem to mind so much, focusing more on the music as he slowly got closer to the bar. When he got there he ordered some brightly coloured fruity drinks from the menu he thought they’d like at some extortionate price, it was made quickly by one of the bartenders and handed to him each in a fancy glass decorated with a wedge of fruit.

By the time he returned to the table Nanaba was lightly bouncing in her seat to the beat of the music. Clearly the vibe of the club was getting to her too, her eyes wide and looking all over the place as if trying to see everything at once. He slid into the seat opposite her, placing the drinks in front of her and letting her take her pick of the two.She sipped at the drink, humming her approval at Mike’s choice as she looked around as if still lost in the wonder of it. Occasionally she would catch eyes with Mike before turning back to watch at the dance floor with a look of longing to get up and join them.

“You can go, you know that right?” smiling he waved a hand ushering her to go ahead and to enjoy herself. After all this was the point of this evening. It would be stupid to waste it after all the effort they had made especially now they were here. With a hurried thank you, Nanaba downed the remainder of her drink and all but ran to the crowd surrounding a raised platform where a DJ stood doing whatever it was that he did. For a few minutes Mike was content to just watch her dance, her movements oddly captivating with the flash of bright coloured lights and the heavy pulse of music mixing with beginning of a warm buzz from the drink he had bought. He had no desire to do anything himself, so just sat back to let her do her thing knowing that this would have to be something she discover and learn herself. Even after she disappeared into the crowd, her scent was not lost to him despite being muffled. Thanking his sensitivity, he knew that he would know immediately if she became frightened or angry. Two songs later, he caught a glance of her again, but this time her smile bright and holding the hand of another woman as they moved away from the crowd towards the bar.

The other girl looked only a year or two older than they were. A pretty face surrounded by hair dyed dark crimson and tied back in an intricate plait down her back. Ripped jeans and a piercing through her nose and lip, she said something that made Nanaba laugh and flush bright red. While his friend was trying to act cool and collected, it was painfully obvious that she wasn’t used to being hit on by somebody she _actually_ felt an attraction to herself. Apparently the stranger found this endearing however, for she laughed and rested a perfectly manicured hand on her shoulder which seemed to do the same trick Mike had used himself and had her relax. For a second Mike thought that they looked good together and was considering leaving them to it before a voice spoke and made him jump.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Looking up from where his fingers were lightly drumming the metal of the table, his eyes caught a flash of bright clear blue. His stomach dropped, an overwhelming sense of sudden recognition at the colour had him nearly falling off his chair in surprise. He probably would have too if his expert reflexes hadn’t gripped the table a little tighter and caught himself before it had.

“Huh?”

“A drink. Can I buy you one?” The voice belonged to a man perhaps in his mid-twenties, tall though not perhaps as tall as he was. Though he was no expert in male beauty he couldn’t really deny that he was attractive at first glance, black hair cropped short though still long enough to be styled up with the right amount of gel, ears decorated with multiple silver rings and eyes that piercing blue that was instantly so familiar though right now his mind was just a little too fuzzy to quite place as to where from. There was a warm smile on his face, as if he found Mike’s clumsiness entertaining or something and Mike wasn’t quite sure how to take it. The thought had run through his mind once or twice about what he would do should he be hit on tonight, it was a gay club after all and being dressed up by Nanaba as if to impress was sure to attract men with potential intentions towards him. But despite thinking about it Mike deemed the possibility too small to be worth really considering a serious strategy for and so had not bothered, so now that he was sitting here with an actual man hitting on him he really didn’t know how to handle it. But despite Mike’s silence he didn’t seem deterred.

“May I?” he motioned at the seat beside him, to which Mike nodded in stunned silence and let the other man join him, coughing lightly upon realising he should probably actually talk instead of appearing rude by remaining quiet.

Turns out the guy’s name was Alex. He didn’t mention much else about himself, keeping to small talk for a few minutes before once again bringing up the topic of buying Mike a drink. Sensing his hesitation he laughed and made a notion to the bar as if offering for the other to come up with him to confirm that no, he was not going to slip something unsavoury into said drink. Mike couldn’t find any reason as to not trust the other, finding himself growing bored at sitting around waiting and enjoying having somebody approach him for once even if it was just a man in a gay bar.   
He was brought shots of something bright green that smelt strongly like alcohol mixed with apple which surprisingly didn’t taste as horrific as he expected. One turned perhaps into four or five of various flavours and colours as time passed chatting and casually flirting at the far. The alcohol going straight to his head and making him open up a little more than he would’ve normally liked but it didn’t matter because Alex laughed and made him feel like he wasn’t a complete idiot for whatever it was he had said.

Eventually a hand was holding his own, tugging lightly to pull him away from the bar and towards the crowd, figuring that it couldn’t really hurt to take him up on his offer he joined Alex on the dance floor. He’d never been much of a dancer and would just stand awkwardly to the side if he were ever invited to do so. But this time he found it easier to relax and go along with things though perhaps that was helped mostly by the alcohol running through his veins like liquid courage. Moving to the heavy beat of the music felt so natural that he was surprised he hadn’t picked it up sooner, letting his body move as it pleased to the songs that slowly blended into each other as time passed. As did the crowd, enveloping him within their depths and surrounding him with bodies which moved around, against and with him whether on purpose or accidental he couldn’t find it in himself to care as he lost himself to the atmosphere. Though one in particular was closer than the rest, hands snaking around his waist and pulling him closer towards hard muscle, slowly grinding against him to a steady rhythm and Mike recognised the scent of the man who had invited him there. The air was becoming hot and sticky from the heat of the bodies all around him and the thought of pulling away and leaving crossed his mind like a whisper for a second before quickly being smothered by a very loud ‘ _why the hell not?_ ’

He couldn’t really deny the attraction between them and right now he didn’t want to even try. This had been a trip to explore Nanaba’s sexuality at first and she seemed to be enjoying herself, so why couldn’t Mike take advantage of things now that he knew that she was doing well? His own identity had never really been something he put much thought into about since it just never really occurred to him that he could even be attracted to anyone in that way, it just wasn’t important when other things just ended up taking priority. He just assumed when the time came he would know that he was interested in another person and take things from there. He couldn’t think of any reason as to not just go with things, so overcame the nerves that threatened to have him turn around and retreat back to the booth to wait for Nanaba, instead he lifted a hand and ran it through that choppy black hair thick with product before gripping it tightly and let himself be pulled closer. At that Alex let out a groan, obviously enjoying the rough treatment and moving to press even closer if it were possible to Mike’s body and- oh. There was definitely no mistaking what that pressure was against his thigh. And Mike was suddenly all too aware of the answering growing hardness of his own stirring between his own legs. He could’ve died right there on the spot from mortification, there was absolutely no way that the Alex could’ve not felt it. He was right, the elder man paused in his actions and testing the waters as if knowing that this was Mike’s first time in such a position he moved a leg to rub _just so_ in a way that had Mike throwing back his head and moaning at the sensation.

This must’ve been a confirmation of some sort because suddenly there were hot lips pressed against his own and despite his better judgement Mike was soon kissing back. There was definitely something completely different  about this in comparison to the kiss he had shared with Nanaba, where that one had been awkward and chaste this made up for it in a lust filled mockery of passion. It felt like he was drowning in a fire of emotion, every one of his senses overwhelmed by what was going on. He could taste the bitter alcohol from the shots they had shared, smell the sweat and want, scents so strong he swore he could even taste them. Cinnamon? Some metallic tang of a cologne, lust and greed blending together into a tangled web of his drunken mind was struggling to pull apart to understand. All the while an undertone of ‘yes’ growing slowly louder.. _More MORE **MORE**!!_

They had moved off of the dance floor. When had that happened? But it was darker where they were now, wherever that was. He could still hear the music, feel the vibrations beneath his feet from the base but no longer were other people moving against him from all sides. Instead he found himself pressed against a very solid wall, to which he was incredibly thankful for right now with his legs feeling almost like lead. Hands were soon in his hair, pulling out the band holding it up out of his face and burying themselves deep within the golden strands as soon as they were free. A light tug had Mike letting out a guttural moan that he just couldn’t hold back. More kisses, these ones deeper. Tongue involved in what he had always suspected to be a disgusting thing to do, but clearly it wasn’t the case and he didn’t care. He craved it. He craved more. A hand snaked up his shirt to explore at his chest, receiving a low whistle as it quickly found his toned abs and Mike couldn’t do anything but let it continue, not that he had any desire to stop it. There was a sudden pressure on his chest as a nipple was assaulted beneath apparently talented fingers and his hips bucked forwards of their own accord as he broke the kiss to gasp his approval.

“Let me take care of that for you.” words were whispered with an air of amusement against his lips before they moved to trail down his neck, occasionally leaving small but sharp bites in between soft kisses which sends jolts of excitement and arousal coursing throughout his body.   
Being so new to this it was easy to feel over-stimulated and even just the sensation left by blunt nails running over the sensitive flesh of his stomach before teasing at the skin just above his waistband had him almost writhing against the wall in pleasure. The pressure of his jeans concealing his raging hard on was beyond painful now, almost unbearable for him to handle. But he didn’t know what to say or do, though thankfully Alex understood and gave Mike a knowing look, blue eyes hazy and blown from lust. But yet still that same shocking bright colour that stood out so brightly from all the other colours and lights even as he slowly lowered himself to his knees.

“Hmn- a big boy down here. I hit the jackpot with you.” he murmured, voice thick and heavy with his own arousal. Those striking eyes fixated on the tent now right in front of his face from where he knelt before Mike. “Lets get you more comfortable.” The pop of the button and the zip being pulled down weren’t audible what with the music still playing in the background but Mike could’ve cried at the instant relief of pressure as greedy hands pulled him free from the confines of those damn jeans.

There was a pause in his movements and Mike actually panicked for a moment. This man must’ve seen enough cock in his life to know what he liked and Mike himself he had no experience other than the curiosity of a thirteen year old boy in communal showers back when he was in school, he hadn’t ever seen another man’s junk up close and so didn’t quite know his would compare. Perhaps it wouldn’t be good enough and he’d just get up and leave him standing there like an idiot all alone. But all traces of doubt disappeared as his mind calmed and slipped into a blissful silence at the sensation of a hot wet tongue running flat along the length of his erection. If he were more aware of things he would be thankful even more so that the music had changed to something loud just that second; for he would’ve been ashamed that such lewd noises were so being easily pulled from his lips, gasps and loud moaning like a whore  
He was so achingly hard, something he had never experiences at the thought of another to this extent, let alone at someone’s touch. Every little thing he couldn’t help but react to in a way that probably screamed virgin-teenager. Alex must’ve been impressed though and taken every whine and moan as encouragement for he licked again, then opened his mouth to take in the head of Mike’s cock between pale lips.

Mike had to summon every inch of willpower he had not to come on the spot. It was as if everything were amplified, the alcohol aiding in making everything seem brighter and more colourful. Adding this to his very first blow job by someone he could only assume had much practice at it, his mind was reeling. His hands sought out the source of the incredible pleasure, burning themselves into thick blonde hair that was usually so neatly pushed back and looked incredible messed up from wild nights out-  
Wait. No, not blonde.  
Short scruffy black. Where had that come from..?

But he didn’t dwell on it, couldn’t, not with the head beneath his fingers bobbing down to try and take more of him in quickly had him focused only on the growing pleasure he was receiving. He couldn’t help but thrust into that delicious wet heat, almost hesitating but a stroke to his thigh was only urging him onwards and so he lost himself to it. A hand wrapped around what he couldn’t fit and hollowed cheeks sucked expertly with obscene noises that could’ve come straight out of a porno. Looking down he could see the figure beneath him, eyes glazed in ecstasy as he took what he was given, swallowing expertly around the girth of Mike’s arousal that looked borderline painful to try and fit. But he must’ve been enjoying himself just as much as Mike was, for Alex had pulled himself free from his own trousers and was furiously fisting his own dick. He looked close, precome running freely down the shaft as he jerked off with quick sharp snaps of his wrist.

Closing his eyes he felt things reaching a peak, unable to think of anything else right now other than this moment right here right now. He was so close he wouldn’t be able to stop even if he wanted to. And fuck, he didn’t want to. No, he couldn’t stop-  
He was drooling, probably looked a mess but it didn’t matter. He felt a hundred degrees too hot, burning in it. Pleasure mounting. He couldn’t take it anymore-  
With a strangled cry he came buried deep within the stranger’s mouth, who swallowed every drop as Mike tried to recover from the most violent organsm he had ever experienced that had just tore through him and left him breathless in it’s wake. A choked moan signalled the elder man had finished too, pulling away from Mike’s sensitive spent length and smirking from where he knelt on the floor. A lip to his lips where cum and drool trailed down to his chin, he looked amused as he got to his feet and zipped himself back up, causing Mike to realise that he was still exposed and he quickly made to rectify that.

“So, who’s Erwin?”

And at that moment, Mike swore that he felt his heart stop.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on tumblr: http://notgotahorseface.tumblr.com
> 
> Feedback would be incredible


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